Ballentine Partners LLC Acquires 1,883 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 57,410 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.6% of Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.8% in the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,790 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the first quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

META stock opened at $573.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $551.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $510.65.

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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.21%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $621.63.

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.