Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 302,196 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,449 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 3.4% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $176,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $592.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $568.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $604.75. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.45.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total value of $643,414.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,607,740.16. This trade represents a 3.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 119,894 shares of company stock worth $83,475,065. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.