Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.26.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total transaction of $1,029,156.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 253,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.00, for a total transaction of $206,824.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,738. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total transaction of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 357,574 shares of company stock valued at $185,587,773 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $525.60 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $544.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $505.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $495.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

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.