Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,717 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 3,129 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.4% of Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $574.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ META opened at $521.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $544.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $505.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $493.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total transaction of $469,740.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,627 shares in the company, valued at $20,568,394.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total transaction of $469,740.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,568,394.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.98, for a total value of $203,107.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,162,230.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 387,173 shares of company stock valued at $200,360,483. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms 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.