Main Street Research LLC Purchases 3,217 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Main Street Research LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,321 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 3.2% of Main Street Research LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $48,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $521.31 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. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $504.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.74.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,852.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 388,078 shares of company stock valued at $200,792,168. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $574.41.

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.