Aljian Capital Management LLC Buys 1,682 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 114.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,146 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,682 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 221.9% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $565.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $571.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $523.03.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total transaction of $8,876,444.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,384 shares in the company, valued at $6,050,140.64. The trade was a 59.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,958 shares of company stock worth $101,181,747. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.