Global Wealth Strategies & Associates Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 30.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 737 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $334,000. Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 26,312 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $15,406,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $643.58 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $577.74 and a 200 day moving average of $610.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,453,384. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $635.50, for a total value of $329,824.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,535,270. The trade was a 1.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,628 shares of company stock worth $34,826,386 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $701.05.

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.