Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,134,073 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,440 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.1% of Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $837,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Aspire Growth Partners LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 662 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,446,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $821.63.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at $3,570,306. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 41,440 shares of company stock worth $26,233,492 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0%

META opened at $650.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $668.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $707.04. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

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.