Continuum Advisory LLC Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,198 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,658,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $664.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $712.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total transaction of $525,577.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,268,742.26. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,462 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $1,025,052.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,834,277.94. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 124,312 shares of company stock valued at $83,503,034 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $708.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $629.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $624.96.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.