Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Heritage Wealth Partners LLC

Heritage Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,177 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 401 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.1% of Heritage Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.0% in the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Raymond James raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $605.33.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $590.51 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $534.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $504.36.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms 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 owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 266,412 shares of company stock valued at $140,058,708 in the last 90 days. 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.