Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 36.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 173,934 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.4% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $147,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,340 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,306,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 2,946 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hixon Zuercher LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 10,516 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $476.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,149,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,694,282. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.38 and a 1-year high of $542.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $493.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $471.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.10.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total transaction of $859,886.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,238,845.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total transaction of $859,886.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,238,845.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 311,106 shares of company stock valued at $154,542,945. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.