Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,145 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd 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. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of META stock traded down $3.61 on Thursday, hitting $586.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,040,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,372,553. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $534.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $504.36. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $583.73, for a total transaction of $241,080.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,946 shares in the company, valued at $6,973,238.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 266,412 shares of company stock worth $140,058,708. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $660.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $608.58.

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.