Unique Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Unique Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 782 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Unique Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 94.4% in the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $527.42 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $500.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $488.50. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.38 and a 1 year high of $542.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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 forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price for the company. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $574.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total transaction of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at $19,724,113. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,724,113. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 349,174 shares of company stock worth $175,146,777 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.