Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 131,984 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.3% of Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $75,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $580.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $564.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $518.29. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. JMP Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,493,681. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 175,807 shares of company stock worth $93,851,617. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.