Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 94,574 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,491 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.2% of Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $54,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,148,000. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1,058.8% in the second quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC now owns 9,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,967,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Finally, Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 48.5% during the second quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 784 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $623.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $579.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $532.13. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $317.77 and a 12-month high of $629.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on META. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,054,400. This trade represents a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $5,166,159.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares in the company, valued at $29,776,261.56. This trade represents a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 142,160 shares of company stock valued at $81,611,223. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.