Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 496,374 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,303 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $175,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.80.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $3.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $442.56. 9,500,240 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,343,910. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $492.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $406.97.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.52, for a total transaction of $15,737,772.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.52, for a total transaction of $15,737,772.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total value of $256,128.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,853,952. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,257,291 shares of company stock worth $612,916,087. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.