Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 27,937 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 79.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,182 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 27,937 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in 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 worth $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 748,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on META shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $559.10 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $562.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $505.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $496.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,573,817. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.