Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,197 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,875 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.6% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 712.2% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,462,589,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225,186 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $752.33.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 153,473 shares of company stock worth $105,805,440. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $714.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $747.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $691.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $640.92.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.19%.

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.