Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Lifted by Saxon Interests Inc.

Saxon Interests Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.5% of Saxon Interests Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 266,332 shares of company stock valued at $139,981,833. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $605.33.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.7 %

META stock traded down $3.93 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $588.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,207,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,408,502. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $532.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $503.76. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $602.95. 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 $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its 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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.