Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Beaton Management Co. Inc.

Beaton Management Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,290 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 82 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.5% of Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth 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 period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $561.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $507.58 and a 200 day moving average of $497.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $564.50. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 9,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.87, for a total value of $4,908,011.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 247,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,669,016.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 9,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.87, for a total value of $4,908,011.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 247,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,669,016.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

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.