Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Ewa LLC

Ewa LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 50.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,534 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,518 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.6% of Ewa LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Ewa LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,406,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $712.20 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $625.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $624.38. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $712.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $3,334,383.52. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 16,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,855,043.68. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,002 shares of company stock worth $73,353,340 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.