Ieq Capital LLC Sells 6,239 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Ieq Capital LLC cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 851,886 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,239 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 5.8% of Ieq Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $429,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,461 shares in the company, valued at $117,737,915.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,737,915.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

META stock opened at $561.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $507.58 and a 200-day moving average of $497.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $564.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

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.