Larson Financial Group LLC Has $5.20 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,088 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 221.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $565.11 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $313.66 and a one year high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $573.38 and a 200-day moving average of $525.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $345,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,135,544. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,218 shares of company stock worth $65,819,414 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.