Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,377 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 278 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings 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 valued at $12,296,383,000 after buying an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings 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 valued at $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $11,285,855,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded down $8.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $529.26. 4,519,631 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,301,132. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.38 and a twelve month high of $542.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $499.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $486.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $572.51.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total value of $503,908.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,954,472. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 349,174 shares of company stock worth $175,146,777. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.