Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Has $4.10 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,157 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 694 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $595,152,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $515,383,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $584.78 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $529.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $503.17.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total transaction of $8,916,696.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,918 shares in the company, valued at $81,104,462.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.81, for a total transaction of $218,693.72. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,388,160.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total transaction of $8,916,696.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,104,462.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 282,621 shares of company stock worth $148,657,449 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $601.08.

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.