Plancorp LLC Sells 779 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Plancorp LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,713 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 779 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $764,000. Finally, Palo Alto Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the first quarter. Palo Alto Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $663.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $654.81 and its 200-day moving average is $706.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.28%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $661.11, for a total transaction of $341,793.87. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,335.87. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.38, for a total value of $342,218.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 29,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,238,730.26. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,074 shares of company stock worth $26,359,548. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,117.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, December 5th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $820.22.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.