Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 92.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,858 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 597,566 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $616.16, for a total value of $22,133,083.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 451,119 shares of company stock worth $304,709,239. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $12.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $531.48. The company had a trading volume of 14,102,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,773,885. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $628.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $609.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $692.93.

About Meta Platforms

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.