New York Life Investment Management LLC Acquires 4,206 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 335,132 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 4,206 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.6% of New York Life Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $243,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,355 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cpwa LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cpwa LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Torrey Growth & Income Advisors increased its position in Meta Platforms by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Torrey Growth & Income Advisors now owns 786 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 9,684 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,023,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 71 West Capital Partners raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the third quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 40,408 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $29,303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 148,846 shares of company stock worth $101,660,996 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.42% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.9%

META stock traded up $18.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $641.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,115,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,035,764. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $679.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $631.72.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $850.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wedbush lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, President Capital upgraded Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $833.12.

Recent Meta Platforms Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about META:

• Positive Sentiment: ETFs bought about $102.4 million of META shares on Nov. 11, indicating institutional demand that may have helped support the stock. 55 ETFs Add to Meta Platforms (META) on Nov. 11
• 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: 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 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.