Eagle Ridge Investment Management Has $42.18 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,859 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,892 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.9% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $42,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $11,285,855,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 11,154.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,952,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,752,900,000 after purchasing an additional 4,908,251 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440,229 shares during the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 111.0% during the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 218,086 shares of company stock worth $106,423,370 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Raymond James raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.27.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $509.50 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $531.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $480.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $458.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued 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 currently 11.49%.

Meta Platforms 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.