Fiduciary Group LLC Sells 160 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Fiduciary Group LLC decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,971 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 0.9% of Fiduciary Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP raised its position in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of META stock opened at $533.28 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $544.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $505.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $495.81. The company has a market cap of $1.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total value of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 253,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 357,574 shares of company stock worth $185,587,773. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.