Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Has $1.25 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 22.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 price target (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $521.48.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $195,642.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,389.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 310,933 shares of company stock worth $154,451,206. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.3 %

META traded down $1.16 on Thursday, hitting $460.11. The company had a trading volume of 11,577,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,163,966. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $493.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $473.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.