Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Has $519,000 Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,029 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 88 shares during the quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $11,285,855,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,695,722,000 after buying an additional 4,440,229 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management raised its position in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after buying an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ META traded down $8.77 on Monday, hitting $519.23. 5,075,826 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,153,604. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $1.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $502.96 and a 200-day moving average of $491.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $544.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $574.41.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total value of $431,404.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,355.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 418,680 shares of company stock valued at $211,992,147. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.