Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Trajan Wealth LLC's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 3.0%, making it the firm's 6th largest holding valued at $61.66 million.
• Meta Platforms reported $7.14 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $47.52 billion, a 21.6% increase year over year.
• Several analysts have upgraded their price targets for Meta Platforms, with Wedbush raising its target to $920.00 and most analysts rating the stock a "Moderate Buy."

Trajan Wealth LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,987 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,137 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.4% of Trajan Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $61,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,184,163,000 after buying an additional 400,927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $19.74 during trading on Monday, reaching $765.49. 11,393,206 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,306,713. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $724.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $655.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,037 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $785.18, for a total value of $814,231.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $770.00, for a total value of $398,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 4,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,658,270. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 268,251 shares of company stock worth $199,981,827 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.