Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Hobbs Wealth Management LLC

Hobbs Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 845 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.5% of Hobbs Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $808.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $812.00 price objective (up previously from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $803.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Pivotal Research dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $719.29.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.89, for a total value of $365,837.91. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,839,129.05. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 153,766 shares of company stock worth $105,135,650 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $713.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $747.90. 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’s 50-day moving average is $651.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $628.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio 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.