Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Raised by Arcus Capital Partners LLC

Arcus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,326 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.7% of Arcus Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Arcus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $897.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $829.66.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

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

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.30, for a total value of $372,912.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,113,017.50. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.97, for a total transaction of $333,391.05. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,697,760.59. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 213,146 shares of company stock valued at $164,208,279. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.