Bailard Inc. Purchases 684 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,392 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.2% of Bailard Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $46,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,886,000 after buying an additional 16,138 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $119,989,000. TFB Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 97.1% during the 1st quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 9,161 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,448,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 108.1% during the first quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 8,975 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,358,000 after acquiring an additional 4,662 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,360,833.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 228,118 shares of company stock worth $121,237,935. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4 %

META opened at $589.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $560.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $515.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.