Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Decreased by Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 35.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,460 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 13,555 shares during the quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $524.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $544.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $505.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $495.37.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total value of $1,029,156.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 357,574 shares of company stock valued at $185,587,773 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.