Leuthold Group LLC Has $20.62 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Leuthold Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,895 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 366 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.4% of Leuthold Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $20,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of META stock opened at $561.35 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $507.58 and a 200-day moving average of $497.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $564.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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 return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total transaction of $486,636.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have issued 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 an average 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.