Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $574.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded up $5.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $532.21. The stock had a trading volume of 6,007,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,204,949. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $276.03 and a 52 week high of $542.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $501.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $489.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total value of $8,916,696.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 151,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,104,462.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 384,783 shares of company stock valued at $194,001,589. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.