Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV Decreases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,283 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.7% of Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $584.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $563.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $517.29. 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 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total value of $481,650.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 41,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,053,185.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total value of $8,836,861.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,110,002.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total transaction of $481,650.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,053,185.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

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.