Whelan Financial Acquires 143 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Whelan Financial increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,423 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.6% of Whelan Financial’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Whelan Financial’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $46,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1 %

META opened at $567.16 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $555.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $513.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $308.33 and a one year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total value of $503,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,954,472. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total value of $503,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,168 shares in the company, valued at $2,954,472. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 251,092 shares of company stock valued at $132,865,496. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Company 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.