HBW Advisory Services LLC Has $3.70 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,463 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Citizens Financial Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.1% during the third quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 670 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $393,000. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 585 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Private Client Services LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 87.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Client Services LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,315 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 300,228 shares of company stock worth $158,005,260. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $598.08.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $8.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $591.64. The company had a trading volume of 8,567,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,494,515. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $592.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $524.47 and its 200-day moving average is $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 announced its quarterly 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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