Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.'s 2nd Largest Position

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 43.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,297 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,890 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.1% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 141,498 shares of company stock valued at $75,732,154. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $554.40. 14,322,590 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,061,420. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $313.66 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $1.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $568.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $521.17.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

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.