Advisor Resource Council Takes $1.62 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,822 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,615,000. Meta Platforms makes up 0.7% of Advisor Resource Council’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,886,000 after acquiring an additional 16,138 shares in the last quarter. Biechele Royce Advisors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 166.9% in the first quarter. Biechele Royce Advisors now owns 2,365 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Cohen Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.2% in the first quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,435 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,610,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 210,860 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $102,389,000 after acquiring an additional 20,605 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Capital Management Co. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 35.5% during the first quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 21,141 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,266,000 after purchasing an additional 5,537 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total transaction of $481,650.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,437 shares in the company, valued at $22,053,185.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total transaction of $481,650.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,437 shares in the company, valued at $22,053,185.77. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 228,118 shares of company stock valued at $121,237,935. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $589.34 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $561.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $516.13. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

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.