Empowered Funds LLC Has $52.49 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,703 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 36,973 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.8% of Empowered Funds LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $52,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on META. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $634.10.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at $17,360,833.70. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,593 shares of company stock worth $75,253,970. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $553.00. 3,662,874 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,010,993. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $569.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $521.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $313.66 and a 12 month high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

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.