Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,660 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $524.62 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $505.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $495.43. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $544.23. 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 market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

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 return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of 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 given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,817. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,258,362.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 357,574 shares of company stock valued at $185,587,773. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.