Gradient Investments LLC Has $94.81 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,103 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,404 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.6% of Gradient Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $94,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,476,894.45. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. This trade represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,555 shares of company stock worth $26,144,862. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $649.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.38 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. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $662.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $707.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. DA Davidson set a $825.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $819.46.

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.