IFG Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

IFG Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,264 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. IFG Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Central Valley Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the third quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,493,681. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at $17,206,674. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 250,816 shares of company stock worth $132,421,828. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $576.47 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $546.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $508.76. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Loop Capital upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.37.

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.