Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,009 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.7% of Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after buying an additional 118,298 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Mizuho raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $573.54 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $573.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $525.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,197,043.71. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,656 shares of company stock worth $61,933,867. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.