Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,650 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 447 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 0.6% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ellis Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,699 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 23,404 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,398,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 8,553 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Mcrae Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.5% during the third quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 251,230 shares of company stock valued at $132,784,843 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $621.63.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.6 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $593.28 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $553.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $511.61. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $296.86 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.08, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.