Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,160 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.9% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $578.16 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $552.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $511.04. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $296.86 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total value of $239,808.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,456,828. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Securities upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JMP Securities upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $621.63.

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.