EWG Elevate Inc. Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

EWG Elevate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 361 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after buying an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,582,876,000 after acquiring an additional 342,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $11.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $584.78. 11,978,209 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,505,369. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $527.07 and its 200 day moving average is $502.63. 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 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.62, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22.

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, 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 company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $601.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at $19,724,113. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,724,113. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,817. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 283,526 shares of company stock valued at $149,140,674 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.