Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Vertex Planning Partners LLC

Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 909 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price 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. Two research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,131 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $652,767.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $709,329.64. The trade was a 47.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders have sold 168,843 shares of company stock worth $92,083,554 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $563.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $572.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $523.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $313.66 and a 12 month high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

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.