Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Boosted by Dock Street Asset Management Inc.

Dock Street Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,044 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.9% of Dock Street Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Dock Street Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $28,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 6,474 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,706,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Advisory Corp MA purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Kessler Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 9,946 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,693,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the third quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 5,827 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,336,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.3% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $619.20.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,054,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,912 shares of company stock worth $132,027,612 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $563.69 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $548.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $509.61. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.