Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 31.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,072 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,756 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.3% of Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,285,855,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after buying an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.0% during the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,960,215,000 after buying an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after buying an additional 2,748,620 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $527.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $500.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $487.81. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. Raymond James boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $574.41.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 72,473 shares in the company, valued at $38,302,705.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 72,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,302,705.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 349,174 shares of company stock worth $175,146,777. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.