Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Decreased by MRA Advisory Group

MRA Advisory Group decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,927 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,029 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.9% of MRA Advisory Group’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after buying an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $595,152,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $515,383,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of META opened at $582.77 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $583.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $524.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $501.92. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,308,262.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total value of $523,587.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,308,262.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 300,228 shares of company stock worth $158,005,260. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $598.08.

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.