Yost Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Yost Capital Management LP trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 50.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,450 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,460 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.9% of Yost Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Yost Capital Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $561.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $507.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $497.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $564.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. TD Securities increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 9,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.87, for a total value of $4,908,011.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 247,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,669,016.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 9,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.87, for a total transaction of $4,908,011.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 247,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,669,016.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.