MRA Advisory Group Has $3.51 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

MRA Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 52.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,956 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,388 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.0% of MRA Advisory Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 4th 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. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $11,285,855,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.26.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related 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 directly owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,744,534.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $7,744,534.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 373,371 shares of company stock worth $193,535,153 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of META stock opened at $511.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $505.12 and a 200-day moving average of $494.86. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $544.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

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.