Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 363,157 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,473 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $182,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 9,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.87, for a total value of $4,908,011.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 247,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,669,016.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 9,760 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.87, for a total transaction of $4,908,011.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 247,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,669,016.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $561.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $506.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $496.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $564.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.