Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Virtu Financial LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 93.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 15,220 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.1% of Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $559.10 on Friday. 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 stock 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $505.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $496.34. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $562.07.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 36,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,848,320.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total value of $503,908.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,954,472. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.