Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Lowered by Manchester Financial Inc.

Manchester Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,832 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.3% of Manchester Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Manchester Financial Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after buying an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after buying an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $11,285,855,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total transaction of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total transaction of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 349,174 shares of company stock valued at $175,146,777 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $9.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $527.60. 7,511,965 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,315,336. The company’s fifty day moving average is $499.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James boosted 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. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $574.41.

Meta Platforms Company 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.