Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,800 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.0% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $50,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $595,152,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $369,774,000 after purchasing an additional 661,923 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $285,690,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 56,892.0% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 564,221 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,845,000 after buying an additional 563,231 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at $19,197,043.71. This represents a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 620 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $345,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,135,544. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 168,843 shares of company stock worth $92,083,554 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $559.14 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $572.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $523.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 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 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

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.