SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,636 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $937,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,960,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised 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 worth $6,733,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $595,152,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $515,383,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded down $4.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $586.31. 2,902,471 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,371,101. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $534.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $504.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $608.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total transaction of $453,785.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,035 shares in the company, valued at $18,068,669.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total value of $453,785.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,068,669.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total transaction of $859,886.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,238,845.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 266,412 shares of company stock worth $140,058,708. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.