Whale Rock Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Whale Rock Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,289,164 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 82,241 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 9.3% of Whale Rock Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $625,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. S.A. Mason LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Northern Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. LongView Wealth Management lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the first quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $538.95.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,724,113. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 311,760 shares of company stock worth $154,868,876. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $465.71. 11,265,231 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,162,646. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $493.14 and its 200 day moving average is $476.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

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.