Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 160,208 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 802,202 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 160,208 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.6% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $459,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,365,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $595,152,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 926.6% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $369,774,000 after buying an additional 661,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $285,690,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ META opened at $569.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $574.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $526.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,641,281.24. This trade represents a 2.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares in the company, valued at $311,054,400. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,561 shares of company stock valued at $62,445,464. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

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.