Kestra Advisory Services LLC Has $62.81 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 21.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,353 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 23,170 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $62,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Tremblant Capital Group boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Tremblant Capital Group now owns 78,308 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $38,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares in the last quarter. Totem Point Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $5,162,000. Beck Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the first quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 26,390 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,814,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.7% during the first quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,711 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hyperion Capital Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the first quarter. Hyperion Capital Advisors LP now owns 29,527 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $14,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,206,674. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,206,674. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total value of $194,752.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares in the company, valued at $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 311,348 shares of company stock valued at $154,678,120. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.87.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $12.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $465.70. The company had a trading volume of 14,222,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,931,730. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $542.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $493.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.36.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.