Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by 1832 Asset Management L.P.

1832 Asset Management L.P. decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 35.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 875,380 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 484,672 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $441,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,569,705 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,157,093,000 after purchasing an additional 344,384 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 365,761 shares of company stock valued at $190,846,038 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $564.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $507.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $497.28. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $573.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors 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 yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.92.

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.