Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is WP Advisors LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

WP Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,764 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 7.2% of WP Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. WP Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. LS Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $235,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,594 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $565.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $571.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $523.03. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $313.66 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.

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 return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total value of $221,747.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,744,534.08. This represents a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total transaction of $8,876,444.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 11,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,050,140.64. The trade was a 59.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,958 shares of company stock worth $101,181,747 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by 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.