Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Raised by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,525,270 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,563 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.8% of Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,120,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.14, for a total value of $340,258.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,029,308. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,038 shares of company stock valued at $25,533,240. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of META opened at $658.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $645.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $704.88. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $822.22.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.