Scientech Research LLC Grows Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Scientech Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 145.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,424 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 0.6% of Scientech Research LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Scientech Research LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. S.A. Mason LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Northern Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 433 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, LongView Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at $18,944,071.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,358 shares of company stock worth $179,431,101 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

META stock opened at $567.84 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $577.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $514.38 and a 200-day moving average of $499.02.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid 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 (DPR) is 11.49%.

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.