Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Aries Wealth Management

Aries Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,383 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.5% of Aries Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Aries Wealth Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $574.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:META traded down $3.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $528.00. The company had a trading volume of 11,304,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,221,447. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $502.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $491.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $276.03 and a 1 year high of $544.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total value of $431,404.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,370 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,355.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total value of $431,404.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,355.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 418,680 shares of company stock valued at $211,992,147 in the last ninety days. 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.