Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Linscomb Wealth Inc.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,142 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,087 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Bank of Marin boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Marin now owns 1,595 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,279 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.4% in the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 91,703 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $52,494,000 after buying an additional 36,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 80,516 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,091,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $553.00. 3,662,874 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,010,993. The firm's fifty day moving average is $569.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $521.96. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $313.66 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total transaction of $234,410.54. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,294 shares in the company, valued at $5,842,668.52. The trade was a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at $17,360,833.70. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,593 shares of company stock worth $75,253,970 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on META. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $634.10.

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.