Scott & Selber Inc. Sells 78 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Scott & Selber Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,795 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.3% of Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.9% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 16,321 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 174,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $100,076,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 2,859 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,637,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 702,759 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $402,287,000 after buying an additional 104,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.6% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,189 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,130,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $584.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $313.66 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $563.02 and a 200-day moving average of $517.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 194,714 shares of company stock worth $103,811,069 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.