Capital Wealth Planning LLC Has $6.04 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 433 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, LongView Wealth Management lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the first quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $537.95 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $505.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $496.34. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23. 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 $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total transaction of $503,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,168 shares in the company, valued at $2,954,472. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 357,575 shares of company stock valued at $185,595,945. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Meta Platforms

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.