Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third 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 period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total value of $280,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,115,840. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 886,466 shares of company stock worth $438,582,433 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded up $11.55 on Friday, reaching $477.33. 8,118,575 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,434,535. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.17 and a 12 month high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $484.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.21.

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

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.