Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $423,000 Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 739 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,605 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,788,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the third quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,404 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sentry LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sentry LLC now owns 475 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $576.79 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $544.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $507.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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 payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares in the company, valued at $311,054,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,206,674. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,054,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 249,911 shares of company stock worth $131,887,905. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $613.71.

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.