Aljian Capital Management LLC Buys 1,682 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 114.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,146 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Planning Directions Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $243,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. Essential Planning LLC. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $251,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,504,600 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,723,493,000 after acquiring an additional 17,100 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ META opened at $565.52 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $313.66 and a 12 month high of $602.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $571.30 and its 200 day moving average is $523.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total value of $8,876,444.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 11,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,050,140.64. This represents a 59.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s 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 owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,958 shares of company stock worth $101,181,747. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on META. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

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.