Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,474 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.4% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $619.20.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total value of $239,808.45. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,456,828. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total transaction of $239,808.45. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,120 shares in the company, valued at $6,456,828. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 249,912 shares of company stock worth $132,027,612 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ META opened at $563.69 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $548.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $509.61.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

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.