Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Trimmed by Ninety One North America Inc.

Ninety One North America Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,949 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 1,547 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 4,566 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 730 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.53.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $11.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $505.19. 9,879,326 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,977,816. The company’s 50 day moving average is $493.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $396.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.20, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $207.13 and a 52 week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total transaction of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total value of $256,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,853,952. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,440,278 shares of company stock worth $684,796,490 in the last ninety days. 13.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.