772 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Purchased by Wooster Corthell Wealth Management Inc.

Key Points

• Wooster Corthell Wealth Management Inc. recently invested approximately $445,000 in Meta Platforms by acquiring 772 shares in the first quarter.
• Meta Platforms saw significant upgrades from several analysts, with price targets increasing to as high as $905.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company reported $7.14 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 21.6% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Wooster Corthell Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 772 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,007,308 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,030,399,000 after buying an additional 280,357 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,298 shares of company stock worth $116,742,790 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.1%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $8.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $768.07. 3,441,751 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,569,142. The business's 50 day moving average is $704.66 and its 200 day moving average is $647.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $478.65 and a 52 week high of $784.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Susquehanna cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $820.32.

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.