Prospera Financial Services Inc Buys 8,106 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,693 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,106 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.7% of Prospera Financial Services Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $595,152,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 30.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,411,009 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,656,318,000 after purchasing an additional 788,131 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $369,774,000 after purchasing an additional 661,923 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on META. 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

META stock opened at $563.09 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $572.05 and its 200 day moving average is $523.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $520.48, for a total value of $8,693,056.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,657 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,915.36. This trade represents a 86.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total transaction of $533,922.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,641,281.24. The trade was a 2.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 168,843 shares of company stock worth $92,083,554 over the last ninety days. 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.