Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Reduced by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,097 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 889 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 0.6% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $536.32 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $505.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $496.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. 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 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.00, for a total value of $206,824.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,619 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,738. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,852.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 357,987 shares of company stock valued at $185,802,769 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.