Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Creative Planning

Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 716,847 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,754 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $410,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st 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 purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $617.37.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $576.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $546.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $508.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. 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 quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company 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 was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,206,674. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,206,674. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 250,816 shares of company stock worth $132,421,828. 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.