Smith Group Asset Management LLC Has $39.11 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,329 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,445 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.2% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 251,573 shares of company stock valued at $133,019,910 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $567.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $555.21 and its 200 day moving average is $512.56. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $296.86 and a 12-month high of $602.95. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.37.

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.