Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Cut by Olstein Capital Management L.P.

Olstein Capital Management L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 48.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Marest Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Marest Capital LLC now owns 3,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.6% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 75,094 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,464,000 after buying an additional 1,881 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.6% during the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,484 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,120,000 after buying an additional 3,167 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 835 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 37,721 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,317,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1 %

META stock opened at $509.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $481.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.42. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $531.49. 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 results 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. KeyCorp increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,932 shares in the company, valued at $159,759,417.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total value of $453,015.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,944,071.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 252,395 shares of company stock valued at $123,781,816. Insiders own 13.71% 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.