White Pine Investment CO Sells 780 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

White Pine Investment CO lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,473 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 780 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.6% of White Pine Investment CO’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. White Pine Investment CO’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:META opened at $733.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $638.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $626.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $664.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $719.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total transaction of $342,322.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,230 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,676.90. This trade represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.27, for a total value of $325,160.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,857,740.89. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 124,831 shares of company stock worth $83,868,872 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.