Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,233 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.7% of Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,054,513 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,469,906,000 after acquiring an additional 927,491 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,890,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,978 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $11,285,855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on META shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $517.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $479.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $452.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.75, for a total value of $238,507.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,166,093.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.00, for a total value of $283,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,983 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,755. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.75, for a total value of $238,507.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,166,093.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 233,512 shares of company stock worth $113,597,536. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

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.