Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Sells 1,068 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,385 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,068 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.8% of Bridgewater Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,582,876,000 after buying an additional 342,742 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of META traded down $2.36 on Friday, reaching $589.34. The stock had a trading volume of 9,415,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,219,550. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $561.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $516.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction 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 approximately $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,118 shares of company stock valued at $121,237,935 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $634.10.

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.