Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 21.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,365 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.0% of Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 61,169 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $30,842,000 after purchasing an additional 13,071 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.6% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 289,443 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $145,943,000 after buying an additional 10,176 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,014 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,537,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Aspen Investment Management Inc boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 59.5% during the 2nd quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc now owns 2,058 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 933 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $574.41.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total value of $221,747.96. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,534.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total value of $1,007,350.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total value of $221,747.96. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,424 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,534.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 329,890 shares of company stock worth $170,604,385. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $4.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $514.66. 3,919,641 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,047,599. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $503.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.02. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $544.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors 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 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.