Longitude Cayman Ltd. lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 36.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,800 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 0.6% of Longitude Cayman Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Longitude Cayman Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $595,152,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Meta Platforms by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,411,009 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,656,318,000 after buying an additional 788,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $369,774,000 after buying an additional 661,923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
META traded down $15.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $550.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,675,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,963,694. 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 current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $571.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $523.03.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $634.10.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at $19,197,043.71. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,958 shares of company stock worth $101,181,747 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Meta Platforms, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Meta Platforms wasn't on the list.
While Meta Platforms currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Looking to avoid the hassle of mudslinging, volatility, and uncertainty? You'd need to be out of the market, which isn’t viable. So where should investors put their money? Find out with this report.
Get This Free Report
