Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Sanders Morris Harris LLC

Sanders Morris Harris LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 390.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,278 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 4,202 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.5% of Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 25,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,506,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the period. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. now owns 600 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,134,000. Finally, Wiser Wealth Management Inc raised its position in Meta Platforms by 16.8% in the third quarter. Wiser Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,084 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $664.45 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $660.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $707.10.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on META. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $825.00 price target (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $819.46.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.23, for a total transaction of $333,836.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 29,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,101,358.08. The trade was a 1.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $374,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,983,882. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 42,074 shares of company stock valued at $26,478,698 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms 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.