Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,955 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 517 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.3% of Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 3,388 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,172 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,504 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $11,859,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $94,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $13.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $595.94. 14,199,788 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,523,651. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.23, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $596.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $527.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $502.60.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $660.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $598.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 300,228 shares of company stock worth $158,005,260 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.