Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Brendel Financial Advisors LLC

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,145 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 36,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,068,669.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,035 shares in the company, valued at $18,068,669.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 266,412 shares of company stock valued at $140,058,708 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of META traded down $3.61 on Thursday, hitting $586.90. 3,040,045 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,372,553. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $534.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $504.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 issued 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 (DPR) is 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $608.58.

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.