Scalar Gauge Management LLC Buys New Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Scalar Gauge Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,905,000. Meta Platforms makes up about 3.4% of Scalar Gauge Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total transaction of $429,501.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at $3,570,306. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 41,959 shares of company stock worth $26,671,107 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.4%

NASDAQ META opened at $661.53 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $674.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $705.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.03 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several research reports. Citizens Jmp reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Benchmark cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.43.

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.