IMS Capital Management Sells 22 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

IMS Capital Management trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 22 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.2% of IMS Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after buying an additional 4,440,229 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $595,152,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $660.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the company 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 issued a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.28.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 328,662 shares in the company, valued at $187,314,333.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 324,751 shares of company stock worth $170,575,643. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $572.44 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $577.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $517.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $500.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a PEG 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend 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.