Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,074 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,637 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total value of $469,740.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,568,394.35. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 152,141 shares of company stock valued at $83,390,497. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $559.14 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $572.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $524.71. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

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.