Keudell Morrison Wealth Management Cuts Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $726.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $633.87 and a 200-day moving average of $625.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $1.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total transaction of $298,418.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,453,384. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 124,831 shares of company stock worth $83,868,872. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $715.76.

About Meta Platforms

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.