Flavin Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Flavin Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,842 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.0% of Flavin Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Flavin Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $829.66.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $9,062,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,394,225. This represents a 86.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 213,146 shares of company stock worth $164,208,279. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $751.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $741.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $694.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

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.