Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,455 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $739,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at $19,197,043.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 357,574 shares of company stock valued at $185,587,773. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $524.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $544.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $505.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $495.43.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

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.