Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd

Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 56.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,294 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,209 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.6% of Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in 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 worth $18,597,382,000 after acquiring an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position 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.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,258,362.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were 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 $19,258,362.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

META opened at $561.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $564.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $506.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $496.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The company 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.