Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,419 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 19 shares during the quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $720.92 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $677.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $635.41. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $747.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.51, for a total transaction of $370,952.67. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,263,653.36. This trade represents a 6.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,263 shares of company stock worth $104,638,750. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $729.38.

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.