Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,784 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,449 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.0% of Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 99.7% in the first quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 5,083 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.6% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 15,807 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,676,000 after purchasing an additional 6,147 shares during the period. Delta Global Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,358,000. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 406.2% in the first quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 3,757 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.3% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 73,624 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $35,751,000 after purchasing an additional 13,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ:META traded up $12.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $465.70. 14,210,133 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,196,824. The company has a fifty day moving average of $493.33 and a 200 day moving average of $473.80. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.38 and a 12 month high of $542.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 price target (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.66.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 311,348 shares of company stock valued at $154,678,120. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.