Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Boosted by Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,447 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 405 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 0.9% of Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during 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. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $504.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $480.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.38 and a 1-year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.49, for a total value of $15,464,732.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 233,512 shares of company stock valued at $113,597,536. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.05.

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.