Lazari Capital Management Inc. Has $19.92 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,799 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,270 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 8.5% of Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. G&S Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Aspiriant LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the period. RFG Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $512,000. Defined Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $585.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $619.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.7 %

META opened at $567.78 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $549.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $509.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.