Greenwood Gearhart Inc. Acquires 207 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,600 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.2% of Greenwood Gearhart Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 357,574 shares of company stock worth $185,587,773. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $524.62 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $505.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $495.43. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $544.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. 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 announced its earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

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.