Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $90,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:META traded down $4.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $463.36. The stock had a trading volume of 6,950,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,478,830. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $484.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $423.86. The company has a market cap of $1.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $244.95 and a 1-year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.52, for a total transaction of $15,353,467.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 917,544 shares of company stock worth $453,751,884. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.80.

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.