World Equity Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

World Equity Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,263 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.2% of World Equity Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.8% during the second quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 720 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,610 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the second quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 5,591 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the second quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,910 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 19.4% in the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,856 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $9.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $527.42. 14,715,158 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,365,660. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $542.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $500.48 and its 200-day moving average is $487.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,091.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 349,174 shares of company stock valued at $175,146,777 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on META. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $574.41.

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.