DBA Trading LLC Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• DBA Trading LLC acquired 4,000 Meta shares in the third quarter, worth about $2.9 million. Meta now represents 4.9% of its portfolio and is its sixth-largest holding.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Meta has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $833.12, with 50 of 57 analysts rating it Buy or Strong Buy.
• Meta exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with EPS of $7.40 and revenue of $64.6 billion; revenue rose 26.1% year over year. Shares gained 2.9% in Friday trading, while the article also notes insider share sales and recent financial and regulatory concerns.

DBA Trading LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,000 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $2,901,000. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 4.9% of DBA Trading LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 116.7% during the 3rd quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $895.00 to $905.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. President Capital raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.03, for a total transaction of $596,954.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,986,482.44. This trade represents a 23.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,846 shares of company stock valued at $101,660,996. Insiders own 13.42% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here's some of the latest news about META:

• Neutral Sentiment: Meta employees are testing Takes, an in-development prediction-market app where users make forecasts using “cred,” not money. A public launch is uncertain, so any business impact remains unclear. Meta employees test prediction-market app, WSJ reports
• Negative Sentiment: A bearish technical analysis says META recently fell below its 200-day moving average, a signal that could encourage caution among momentum-focused investors. As Meta Platforms Continues To Weaken, A Bearish Trade May Be In Order
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage has raised concerns about Meta’s $27 billion AI data-center financing arrangement, while a UK regulator fined the company over repeated inaccuracies in WhatsApp Business data. These headlines add financial and regulatory risk to the investment picture. Meta's $27B Off-Balance-Sheet AI Deal Reminds Steve Eisman of Enron— Joseph Carlson Disagrees Meta fined by UK regulator over repeated inaccuracies in WhatsApp Business data

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.9%

META stock traded up $18.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $641.69. 15,115,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,035,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $679.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $631.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.25 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.16%.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. is a global technology company that develops social networking, messaging, and digital communication products. Its services include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, which connect people and help businesses reach audiences around the world. The company also develops virtual and augmented reality products and technologies through its Reality Labs division, including Quest headsets and related software and services. Advertising is a central part of Meta's business, with its platforms providing tools for businesses to promote products and services.

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