Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,516 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.7% of Empirical Finance LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Empirical Finance LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $46,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $18,597,382,000 after acquiring an additional 244,803 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,582,876,000 after buying an additional 342,742 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,754,450 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,911,029,000 after buying an additional 208,677 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total value of $469,740.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,568,394.35. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,593 shares of company stock worth $75,253,970. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
NASDAQ META traded down $1.40 during trading hours 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $569.10 and its 200-day moving average is $521.96. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 9.42%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have commented on META shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $634.10.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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