Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,135 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.4% of Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during 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 during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $525.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $505.44 and its 200 day moving average is $495.07.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total transaction of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 253,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,765,650. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’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 $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total value of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 357,574 shares of company stock valued at $185,587,773 in the last 90 days. 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.