Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,611 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Councilmark Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $1,456,000. First Foundation Advisors grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 20,020 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,722,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $244,883,000. Finally, Intermede Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $219,352,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:META traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $476.79. The company had a trading volume of 15,149,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,694,282. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $542.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $493.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $471.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total value of $453,785.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,068,669.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total value of $194,752.40. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 311,106 shares of company stock valued at $154,542,945. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $593.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 target price (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.10.

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.