StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.6% of StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report 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 report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Pivotal Research assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $601.08.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,852.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 266,332 shares of company stock worth $139,981,833. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $592.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $532.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $503.76. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 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 firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.