Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is United Asset Strategies Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,969 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,995 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.3% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 94.4% in the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total value of $221,747.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,534.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total value of $8,404,112.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 301,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,697,700.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total value of $221,747.96. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,534.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 390,977 shares of company stock valued at $202,384,548 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $516.86 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $505.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $493.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $544.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its 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 in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $660.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $576.66.

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.