Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Increased by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,042 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.4% of Wedmont Private Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total value of $453,785.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,068,669.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total transaction of $453,785.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,035 shares in the company, valued at $18,068,669.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total transaction of $859,886.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,238,845.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 266,412 shares of company stock worth $140,058,708 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Pivotal Research initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 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 given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $605.33.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $590.51 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.92, 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $534.36 and a 200-day moving average of $504.36.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.