Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by West Wealth Group LLC

West Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 599 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the quarter. West Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% in the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,790 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total transaction of $239,808.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,456,828. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $573.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $551.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $510.65. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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. 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 is currently 10.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Securities boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $621.63.

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.