Prentice Wealth Management LLC Purchases 70 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,054,513 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,469,906,000 after purchasing an additional 927,491 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,890,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,978 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,285,855,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.75, for a total transaction of $238,507.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,166,093.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 206,145 shares of company stock valued at $99,707,031 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $512.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,880,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,468,744. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $478.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.05.

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.