Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by 17 Capital Partners LLC

17 Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,925 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 16.4% of 17 Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. 17 Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $25,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LS Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after buying an additional 6,155 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $235,872,000 after purchasing an additional 5,594 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3 %

META opened at $584.82 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $563.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $517.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $313.66 and a 12 month high of $602.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at $19,197,043.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at $311,493,681. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 194,714 shares of company stock valued at $103,811,069 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on META shares. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Company 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.