Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,738 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,302 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.2% of Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $535,549.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,130,103.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at $35,190,573. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 335,860 shares of company stock worth $167,199,478 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $12.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $528.54. The company had a trading volume of 13,497,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,425,076. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $497.26 and a 200-day moving average of $484.74. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $572.51.

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.