Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Grows Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,662 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total transaction of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,000 shares in the company, valued at $126,765,650. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 373,371 shares of company stock worth $193,535,153. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $511.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $544.23. The company has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $505.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.86.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.