Councilmark Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,998 Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,998 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,456,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $11,285,855,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11,154.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,952,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,752,900,000 after buying an additional 4,908,251 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after buying an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after buying an additional 3,888,308 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after buying an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2 %

Meta Platforms stock traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $476.79. 15,149,416 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,694,282. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $493.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $471.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $542.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders 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 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.54, for a total transaction of $216,354.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,722.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 311,106 shares of company stock worth $154,542,945. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.10.

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.