Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 877 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st 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 during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $559.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $505.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $496.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $562.07. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

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.