Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Boosted by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 911,723 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,151 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.4% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $521,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.36, for a total value of $4,117,971.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 531,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $274,643,622.24. The trade was a 1.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,218 shares of company stock worth $65,819,414 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $565.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $573.38 and a 200 day moving average of $525.35. The company has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

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.