Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Raised by Chicago Capital LLC

Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 308,066 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 3,799 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 4.6% of Chicago Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $155,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 2,955 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,342 shares during the period. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.2% during the second quarter. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,597 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,335,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.5% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 176,423 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $88,956,000 after buying an additional 19,593 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 9.4% during the second quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanlon Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,912 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. DA Davidson started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $504.79 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $544.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $505.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $494.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.75, for a total value of $208,369.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,061,678.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 373,783 shares of company stock worth $193,743,522. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.