Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Lane & Associates LLC

Lane & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 484 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the quarter. Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,126,190 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $595,152,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $369,774,000 after purchasing an additional 661,923 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $285,690,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $565.11 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $313.66 and a 12 month high of $602.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $573.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $525.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 is currently 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,218 shares of company stock valued at $65,819,414. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.71.

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.