HBW Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,463 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,425 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,280 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 74,973 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,537,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total value of $523,587.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 35,102 shares in the company, valued at $20,308,262.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,102 shares in the company, valued at $20,308,262.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.75, for a total transaction of $8,864,586.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,894,189. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 300,228 shares of company stock worth $158,005,260. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:META traded up $8.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $591.64. The stock had a trading volume of 8,567,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,494,515. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $524.47 and its 200 day moving average is $501.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $592.14.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for 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%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $598.08.

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.