Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 1,779 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,984 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.3% of Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $75,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,582,876,000 after buying an additional 342,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total value of $481,650.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 41,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,053,185.77. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total transaction of $481,650.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,053,185.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,807 shares of company stock valued at $93,851,617 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $580.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $564.48 and a 200-day moving average of $518.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $313.66 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Loop Capital raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

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.