Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,225,362 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 49,808 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 0.7% of Stifel Financial Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $701,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Central Valley Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $613.78 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $576.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $529.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $315.39 and a 52-week high of $617.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,197,043.71. This trade represents a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 141,668 shares of company stock valued at $81,288,334 over the last quarter. 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.