Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Boosted by Western Financial Corp CA

Western Financial Corp CA boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,627 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.5% of Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 48.7% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 151,391 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,409,000 after acquiring an additional 6,458 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 20.0% during the third quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,651 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bluesphere Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 42.3% during the third quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $582.01 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $547.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $509.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 250,324 shares of company stock worth $132,218,368. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $619.20.

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.