McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. Buys New Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,458 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.4% of McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 248.6% in the first quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 122 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $26,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2,500.0% in the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 130 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 162 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 62.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $311.72 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $302.04 and a 200-day moving average of $257.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $802.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.09 and a 12-month high of $326.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The social networking company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.91 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 18.70%. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 13.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Mizuho increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $280.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $350.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $300.00 to $330.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, China Renaissance upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, forty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.34, for a total value of $205,247.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,680 shares in the company, valued at $11,542,891.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,643 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.19, for a total transaction of $3,258,780.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 91,617 shares in the company, valued at $28,052,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.34, for a total value of $205,247.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,542,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,179 shares of company stock worth $12,474,820 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

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.