Weaver Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,279 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 0.9% of Weaver Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position 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 worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $567.78 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $549.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $509.99.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank assumed 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. Guggenheim upped their price target 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. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $619.20.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 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 $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 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 $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.