Aristides Capital LLC Sells 200 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Aristides Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.6% of Aristides Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vantage Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 111.0% during the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares during the period. Rollins Financial grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 30,657 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,851,000 after buying an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $533,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 31,943 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,307,000 after buying an additional 4,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $643.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total transaction of $483,224.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.87, for a total transaction of $4,615,448.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 178,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,191,218.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 324,751 shares of company stock worth $170,575,643. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $572.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $517.89 and a 200-day moving average of $500.20. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $577.40.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were 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 was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

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.