Troy Asset Management Ltd Sells 596 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Troy Asset Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,368 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 596 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.6% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $48,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $572.44 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $577.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $517.89 and a 200-day moving average of $500.20.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on META. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned 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 target price of $593.28.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total value of $5,699,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 328,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 324,751 shares of company stock worth $170,575,643. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.