Gagnon Securities LLC Sells 141 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Gagnon Securities LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,002 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $11,285,855,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11,154.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,952,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,752,900,000 after acquiring an additional 4,908,251 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,695,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.0% during the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.54, for a total transaction of $216,354.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,913,722.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at $15,794,965.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.54, for a total transaction of $216,354.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,913,722.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 310,933 shares of company stock valued at $154,451,206. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.7 %

META stock traded down $3.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $457.91. The company had a trading volume of 13,348,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,176,442. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $493.72 and a 200 day moving average of $473.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.38 and a 12 month high of $542.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued 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 0.44%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $521.48.

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.