Granite Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,394 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 404 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. Vantage Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 3,888,308 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 66.4% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rollins Financial lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 30,657 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on META. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $561.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $507.58 and its 200 day moving average is $497.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $564.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total transaction of $8,532,717.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,737,915.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425 in the last quarter. 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.