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

Kraft Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 26.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 946 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.4% of Kraft Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Kraft Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first 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. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares in the company, valued at $7,268,235.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total value of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 311,348 shares of company stock valued at $154,678,120 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.66.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $10.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $463.48. 4,717,322 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,127,890. The company’s 50 day moving average is $493.33 and its 200 day moving average is $473.80. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $542.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.