Castellan Group Makes New $1.03 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Castellan Group bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,800 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,030,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $595,152,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $520,662,000 after purchasing an additional 890,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,470,870,000 after buying an additional 698,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $635.20.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total transaction of $486,636.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The trade was a 2.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 214,002 shares of company stock valued at $126,740,653 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $630.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $583.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $536.44. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $328.64 and a fifty-two week high of $638.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

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.