Vest Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,056 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,197,043.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 357,574 shares of company stock valued at $185,587,773. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $524.62 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $505.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $495.51. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $544.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.