Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 273 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.1% of Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.6% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,718 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 62,486 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $30,342,000 after acquiring an additional 15,949 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 2,858 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Iams Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 135.9% in the 1st quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,641,281.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 250,818 shares of company stock worth $132,569,993. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $643.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Pivotal Research assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $621.63.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $591.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $296.86 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $554.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $512.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.