United American Securities Inc. d b a UAS Asset Management Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

United American Securities Inc. d b a UAS Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,041,000. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.9% of United American Securities Inc. d b a UAS Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Aufman Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $259,000. Cynosure Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 20.7% in the first quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,739 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Northern Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 35,119 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $17,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.54, for a total transaction of $216,354.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,722.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.54, for a total transaction of $216,354.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,722.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $268,606.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,819,124.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 310,933 shares of company stock worth $154,451,206 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.3 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $20.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $467.82. 7,001,069 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,120,975. The company has a market cap of $1.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $494.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $474.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on META. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.33.

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.