Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Trimmed by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 734,463 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 27,202 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.1% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $370,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.2% during the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 61,169 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $30,842,000 after buying an additional 13,071 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.6% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 289,443 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $145,943,000 after buying an additional 10,176 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,014 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,537,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 59.5% in the second quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc now owns 2,058 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.1% in the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 933 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded down $2.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $519.10. The stock had a trading volume of 6,268,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,121,018. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $544.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. 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 moving average is $503.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $491.66.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total value of $8,876,444.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 11,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,050,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total transaction of $8,876,444.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 11,384 shares in the company, valued at $6,050,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total value of $221,747.96. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,534.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 434,890 shares of company stock worth $220,658,935. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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