Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Purchases 1,534 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 261.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,121 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.7% of Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 4,566 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 12,967 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,590,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 248 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 8,062 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,854,000 after buying an additional 1,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Client Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total transaction of $423,150.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 349,174 shares of company stock worth $175,146,777 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $574.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $10.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $526.60. The company had a trading volume of 6,763,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,315,336. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $542.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $499.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $486.33.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Meta Platforms 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.