Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 6,809 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,228 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,809 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.6% of Park Avenue Securities LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $49,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 53.6% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $697.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $587.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $615.55. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $702.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $671.00, for a total transaction of $348,249.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,702 shares in the company, valued at $19,930,042. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total value of $298,418.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,453,384. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,563 shares of company stock worth $34,793,185 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.