Ethos Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 147.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,975 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,556 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $767.37 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $725.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $655.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 267,732 shares of company stock valued at $199,652,003. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.