Kessler Investment Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Kessler Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,946 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 46 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.9% of Kessler Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Kessler Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $8,498,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $641,000. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,247 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,759,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $563.69 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $602.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $548.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $509.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share 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 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 yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total transaction of $214,849.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,147 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,057.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total transaction of $214,849.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,684,057.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 249,912 shares of company stock valued at $132,027,612. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $619.20.

About Meta Platforms

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.