Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Raised by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,507 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.5% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. United Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 128.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,071 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,193,000 after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 16.3% in the third quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.9% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,563 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708 shares during the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.7% during the third quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 9,365 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 8,801 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $591.70 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $558.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.71. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at $17,360,833.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 228,118 shares of company stock worth $121,237,935 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

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.