Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Lifted by Old North State Wealth Management LLC

Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 648 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% in the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $235,872,000 after purchasing an additional 5,594 shares during the period. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the first quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’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 $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. 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 at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,919 shares of company stock valued at $129,296,067 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $572.05 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $313.66 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $557.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $514.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

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.