Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,885 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 34.9% during the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.6% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 134,250 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,189,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares in the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.7% in the first quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $90,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 18,006 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,743,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.9 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $578.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $552.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $511.04. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $296.86 and a 52 week high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid 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 yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Pivotal Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price objective on the stock. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $621.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. 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 available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715. Corporate 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.