KFA Private Wealth Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

KFA Private Wealth Group LLC lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 689 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. Seamount Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. now owns 497 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 14,045 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,040,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 3,815 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,713 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,278,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $576.47 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $546.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $508.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $602.95.

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 net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on META shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $585.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,206,674. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at $17,206,674. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,816 shares of company stock worth $132,421,828 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.