Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by WP Advisors LLC

WP Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,468 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,764 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 7.2% of WP Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. WP Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 48.8% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,886,000 after acquiring an additional 16,138 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its position in Meta Platforms by 541.8% during the first quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 3,819 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224 shares in the last quarter. Natixis grew its position in Meta Platforms by 126.0% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 455,820 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $221,337,000 after purchasing an additional 254,166 shares in the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,143,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $565.52 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $571.30 and a 200-day moving average of $523.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders sold 185,958 shares of company stock valued at $101,181,747 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.