Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Allen Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Allen Investment Management increased its Meta stake by 8.1% in the third quarter, adding 48,894 shares to hold 655,212 shares valued at about $475.1 million.
• Meta beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $7.40 versus $6.54 expected and revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26.1% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $833.12; meanwhile, company insiders sold about 149,398 shares over the prior 90 days, under pre-arranged trading plans.

Allen Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 655,212 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,894 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 5.4% of Allen Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Allen Investment Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $475,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Palisade Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 934 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,718 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,223,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.9% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,040 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the third quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,675 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,818,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the third quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

More Meta Platforms News

Here's some of the latest news about META:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan named Meta its preferred internet stock, citing AI’s contribution to advertising performance and potential growth in Family of Apps ad revenue. Article: Meta Platforms Wins JPMorgan Backing
• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched its Muse AI agent on Apple Watch and Wear OS, adding voice and text access that could broaden use of its assistant. Article: Meta's AI agent Muse lands on Apple Watch
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s Facebook was fined by Brazil’s electoral court over alleged failure to provide equal content during a presidential campaign, adding regulatory and reputational risk. Article: Meta Fined by Brazil Electoral Court

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Arete Research boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a "buy" rating and set a $875.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $795.00 to $750.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 149,398 shares of company stock worth $102,134,435 over the last 90 days. 13.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $628.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $678.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $632.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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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