Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Balboa Wealth Partners

Balboa Wealth Partners decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,213 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,187 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.0% of Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $726.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $633.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $625.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $664.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $812.00 target price (up from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned 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 $715.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company’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 value of $4,532,440.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,831 shares of company stock worth $83,868,872 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.