Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 72,046 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 961,588 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 72,046 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.6% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $484,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $574.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.00, for a total transaction of $431,685.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,465 shares in the company, valued at $19,778,805. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.00, for a total value of $431,685.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,778,805. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total transaction of $503,908.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,168 shares in the company, valued at $2,954,472. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 388,078 shares of company stock worth $200,792,168. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $518.43. The company had a trading volume of 3,860,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,959,913. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $1.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $504.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.38. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23.

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

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.