Blue Trust Inc. Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,650 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,636 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $576.47 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $602.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $546.53 and its 200-day moving average is $508.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. DA Davidson started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $643.00 to $811.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $617.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,206,674. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $311,054,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at $17,206,674. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,816 shares of company stock valued at $132,421,828. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.