Monetta Financial Services Inc. Purchases 1,600 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Monetta Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 44.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.3% of Monetta Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Monetta Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after buying an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after buying an additional 1,083,719 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,569,705 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,157,093,000 after acquiring an additional 344,384 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,737,915.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $559.10 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $505.40 and its 200 day moving average is $496.34. 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 company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $562.07.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

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.