Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,505 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.7% of Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.8% in the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,790 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares during the period. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the first quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 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 value of $2,663,825.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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. Insiders have sold a total of 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $573.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $551.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $510.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 10.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $621.63.

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.