Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Buys 4,266 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,256 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,266 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.8% during the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 8,082 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the period. V2 Financial group LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the second quarter. V2 Financial group LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 159.1% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 86,238 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $63,651,000 after buying an additional 52,954 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 152,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $112,732,000 after buying an additional 9,689 shares during the period. Finally, 1248 Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 3,729 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $644.23 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $665.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $707.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 target price (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $925.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $819.46.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.16, for a total value of $344,699.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,215 shares in the company, valued at $20,067,594.40. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $669.63, for a total value of $346,198.71. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,082.13. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 41,959 shares of company stock valued at $26,578,191 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.