Carret Asset Management LLC Has $13.40 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Carret Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,404 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.5% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 8,553 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 8.5% during the third quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 7,535 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,313,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $621.63.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of META opened at $593.28 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $553.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $511.61. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $296.86 and a 12-month high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 251,230 shares of company stock worth $132,784,843. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.