Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,084 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.8% of Wealth Alliance’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during 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 buying an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $182,289,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $660.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price 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. Two research 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.9 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $559.10 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $562.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $505.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $496.34.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, 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 owns 36,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,848,320.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.57, for a total value of $214,995.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 13,185 shares in the company, valued at $6,863,715.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,848,320.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.