American Planning Services Inc. Has $3.06 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

American Planning Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 455.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,066 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,974 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.2% of American Planning Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. American Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second 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 own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of META opened at $537.95 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $544.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.90, a P/E/G 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $505.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $496.34.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total value of $503,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,954,472. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 357,575 shares of company stock worth $185,595,945 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.