Morling Financial Advisors LLC Sells 1,421 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Morling Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,130 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,421 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.8% of Morling Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Morling Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.18, for a total transaction of $245,578.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,552,865.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,368,244 shares of company stock worth $657,034,449. Insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $2.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $493.50. 36,273,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,341,254. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $207.13 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $495.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $403.14.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on META shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.28.

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.