Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,900 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,967,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.4% of Smith Thornton Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total value of $453,015.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total value of $453,015.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 342,358 shares of company stock worth $179,431,101. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $567.84 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $577.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $514.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $591.23.

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.

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