Connective Portfolio Management LLC Sells 5,400 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Connective Portfolio Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,400 shares during the quarter. Connective Portfolio Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6 %

META stock traded down $9.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $583.53. 1,927,215 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,396,810. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $532.05 and a 200-day moving average of $503.76. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $601.08.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.81, for a total transaction of $218,693.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,383 shares in the company, valued at $3,388,160.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.81, for a total transaction of $218,693.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,383 shares in the company, valued at $3,388,160.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 266,332 shares of company stock worth $139,981,833. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.