Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,561 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 3.3% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $621.63.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $573.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $551.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $510.72.

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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.21%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715. 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.