Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by ORG Partners LLC

ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 462.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,852 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $11,285,855,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,695,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total transaction of $483,224.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total transaction of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total value of $1,007,350.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 315,770 shares of company stock worth $157,719,910. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $1.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $526.76. 11,433,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,390,441. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $498.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $485.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.38 and a twelve month high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $572.51.

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.