Traynor Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 158,101,319 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $53,177,378,000 after buying an additional 1,909,538 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,303,590 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,719,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887,737 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 51,769,038 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $17,413,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,627,257 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,629,910,000 after purchasing an additional 950,662 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,595,113,000. 65.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $290.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Friday, April 22nd. Citigroup upgraded Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $258.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 20th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 28th. Finally, downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.87.

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 342 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.89, for a total transaction of $56,734.38. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,170,987.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Susan J.S. Taylor sold 1,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $287,067.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,605 shares in the company, valued at $324,466.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,698 shares of company stock worth $9,181,081 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.59% of the company’s stock.

Shares of META opened at $155.85 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $190.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.46. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.44 and a 52 week high of $384.33. The company has a market capitalization of $421.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.37.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 27th. The social networking company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.18. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.20% and a return on equity of 28.74%. The business had revenue of $27.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current year.

About Meta Platforms (Get Rating)

Meta Platforms, Inc develops products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, wearables, and in-home devices worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment's products include Facebook, which enables people to share, 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, groups, and businesses across platforms and devices through chat, audio and video calls, and rooms; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.

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