Deepwater Asset Management LLC Sells 5,957 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Deepwater Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,747 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,957 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 5.6% of Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $159,841,000 after purchasing an additional 32,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voyager Global Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $509.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.38 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $480.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $458.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 218,086 shares of company stock valued at $106,423,370. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.