Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Reduced by Chapin Davis Inc.

Chapin Davis Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,933 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 985 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.7% of Chapin Davis Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Chapin Davis Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total transaction of $423,150.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total transaction of $423,150.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,091.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 349,174 shares of company stock worth $175,146,777. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $9.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $527.42. 14,715,158 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,365,660. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.38 and a twelve month high of $542.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $500.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $488.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $574.41.

Meta Platforms 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.

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