Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Balboa Wealth Partners' 8th Largest Position

Balboa Wealth Partners cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,371 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,651 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.3% of Balboa Wealth Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Balboa Wealth Partners' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,886,000 after purchasing an additional 16,138 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 22.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 67,195 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $32,629,000 after buying an additional 12,301 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 20,020 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,722,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $1,456,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $554.40. 14,242,830 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,060,916. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $313.66 and a 12 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 business's 50-day moving average is $568.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $521.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is presently 9.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 141,498 shares of company stock valued at $75,732,154. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.