Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Has $23.68 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,368 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.1% of Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.0% during the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,790 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,206,674. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,817. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,816 shares of company stock valued at $132,421,828 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Bank of America raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $617.37.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1 %

META stock opened at $576.47 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $546.53 and its 200-day moving average is $508.76. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

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.