Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Lynch & Associates IN

Lynch & Associates IN increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,653 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Lynch & Associates IN’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in 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 in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $511.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $505.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $494.86. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total transaction of $8,406,784.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,297 shares in the company, valued at $138,567,991.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total transaction of $8,406,784.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,297 shares in the company, valued at $138,567,991.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 373,371 shares of company stock worth $193,535,153. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

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.