Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Lifted by Violich Capital Management Inc.

Violich Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,810 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2 %

META stock opened at $575.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.04, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $547.72 and a 200-day moving average of $509.22.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $617.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,641,281.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total transaction of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,641,281.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 249,911 shares of company stock valued at $131,978,559. Company 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.