Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Has $19.67 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.0% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,010 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 19,959 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 396,201 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $199,773,000 after purchasing an additional 55,844 shares during the period. Equita Financial Network Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,670 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,876,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $521.31 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $505.30 and a 200 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. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total value of $503,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,168 shares in the company, valued at $2,954,472. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 387,173 shares of company stock worth $200,360,483 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $574.41.

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.