Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Buys 2,251 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 184.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,473 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,251 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.6% of Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 679 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.6% in the third quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,543,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.6% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,093 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,537,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 242,774 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $178,289,000 after buying an additional 6,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.6% during the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 5,342 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,923,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $661.11, for a total transaction of $341,793.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,335.87. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.38, for a total transaction of $342,218.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,177 shares in the company, valued at $19,238,730.26. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,038 shares of company stock valued at $25,587,621. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of META opened at $658.69 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $653.34 and its 200 day moving average is $706.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $820.22.

Key Stores Impacting Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta agreed to buy Singapore/China?rooted AI agent startup Manus (reported deal value ~$2 billion), positioning Meta to speed up deployment of autonomous agents across consumer and business products. Meta Pays $2 Billion for Singapore AI Startup Manus
• Positive Sentiment: Manus brings scale and subscription revenue (reports say it already serves millions of paying users), which could accelerate monetization of Meta’s AI features and shorten time to product integration. Meta Buys AI Startup Manus, Adding Millions of Paying Users
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street stays constructive: Baird’s Colin Sebastian reiterated a Buy (slight trim to his target), and broader analyst coverage and price?target upgrades this year keep a bullish backdrop for META. Colin Sebastian on Meta Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s acquisition streak and AI roadmap (new models and agent efforts) underpin multi?quarter growth expectations, but they also imply higher near?term AI spend — investors are weighing long?term upside vs short?term cost. Meta Buys Manus. What the China-Founded AI Start-Up Brings for Zuckerberg.
• Negative Sentiment: Near?term selling pressure: recent profit?taking and notable insider sales have pressured the stock in the last session, reminding investors that returns can be volatile around big strategic moves. Meta stock slips on Monday
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical and regulatory risk: Manus’s China/Singapore roots have drawn attention; acquiring a company with Chinese ties may invite extra scrutiny or integration complexity. Meta to acquire Chinese startup Manus

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.