Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Childress Capital Advisors LLC

Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,017 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.2% of Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,582,876,000 after acquiring an additional 342,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $567.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $555.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $513.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $308.33 and a 1-year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.26% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total value of $252,071.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,004 shares in the company, valued at $310,890,460.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total value of $252,071.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,890,460.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 251,993 shares of company stock worth $133,271,982. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.