Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,483 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 507 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 0.7% of Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $595,152,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Meta Platforms by 30.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,411,009 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,656,318,000 after purchasing an additional 788,131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $554.08 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $313.66 and a one year high of $602.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $520.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total value of $478,183.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,532 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,298.16. This represents a 2.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,200 shares of company stock worth $84,533,106 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

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.