Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by M3 Advisory Group LLC

M3 Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 41.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,381 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $11,285,855,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,695,722,000 after buying an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,308 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $574.41.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction 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 approximately $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total transaction of $431,404.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,370 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,355.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 384,783 shares of company stock valued at $194,001,589 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded up $9.42 on Wednesday, hitting $536.15. 4,744,076 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,201,267. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $276.03 and a 52 week high of $542.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $501.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $489.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Meta Platforms 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.