Connors Investor Services Inc. Trims Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 36.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,387 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 13,316 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms 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 value of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total transaction of $859,886.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,238,845.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 311,106 shares of company stock valued at $154,542,945 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $476.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,149,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,694,282. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $493.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.08. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $542.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on META shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Two equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.10.

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.