Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Marshall Financial Group LLC

Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,478 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 615 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.7% of Marshall Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC grew 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 worth $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.0% during the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.5% in the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.8% in the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,790 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,504 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ META opened at $576.47 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $546.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $508.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,206,674. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,816 shares of company stock worth $132,421,828 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $617.37.

About Meta Platforms

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.