J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Buys 18,744 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 60.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,941 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,744 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.8% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $36,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Smart Money Group LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 20.4% during the first quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Aspire Growth Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 7.3% during the first quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 662 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the first quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,446,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at $5,962,956.64. The trade was a 21.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,959 shares of company stock worth $26,671,107. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $661.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $674.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $705.81.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $825.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.