Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Wealth Quarterback LLC

Wealth Quarterback LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,859 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 232 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,686,000 after buying an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 26.5% during 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 during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $235,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,594 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3 %

META stock opened at $584.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $563.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $517.29. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $313.66 and a one year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,360,833.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 194,714 shares of company stock worth $103,811,069 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.