Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 67.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,703 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,973 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 0.8% of Empowered Funds LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $52,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total value of $221,747.96. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,744,534.08. The trade was a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,593 shares of company stock worth $75,253,970. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $634.10.
View Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms stock opened at $554.40 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $569.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $521.96. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.
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.
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