Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Altshuler Shaham Ltd

Altshuler Shaham Ltd decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 99.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,591 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 454,574 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP boosted its stake in 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 worth $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased 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 during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $231,280.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,152,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total value of $453,015.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 349,472 shares of company stock worth $182,544,600 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2 %

META opened at $563.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $573.98. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $510.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $498.05.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. DA Davidson started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.92.

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.