Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ 6th Largest Position

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,300 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.2% of Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440,229 shares during the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $406,316,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at $19,197,043.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 357,574 shares of company stock worth $185,587,773 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on META. DA Davidson began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $524.62 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $505.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $495.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $544.23. The company has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

About Meta Platforms

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.