Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Encompass More Asset Management

Encompass More Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 155.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,077 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the quarter. Encompass More Asset Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total value of $470,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,135,440. This represents a 2.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 106,239 shares of company stock valued at $59,681,541. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $574.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $313.66 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $575.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $527.37.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Pivotal Research upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

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.