Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Blue Whale Capital LLP

Blue Whale Capital LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 23.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,600 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 32,150 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 4.6% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $52,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 have sold 346,666 shares of company stock worth $180,145,414 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $561.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $507.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $497.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $564.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid 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 yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

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.