Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by IHT Wealth Management LLC

IHT Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,493 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 14,188 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.7% of IHT Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. IHT Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,928,185,000 after buying an additional 204,412 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 3,219 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 2,853 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.5% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,048 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $20.51 on Wednesday, reaching $520.79. 18,129,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,806,017. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $594.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $605.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $624.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $676.55.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.76, for a total transaction of $23,160,423.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 343,068 shares of company stock worth $237,676,335 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

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.