Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Has $5.64 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,187 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,892 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.9% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Guggenheim upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $660.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.26.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,765,650. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 357,574 shares of company stock valued at $185,587,773 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $524.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $544.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $505.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $495.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. 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 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Meta Platforms 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.