Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by MWA Asset Management

MWA Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,004 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.0% of MWA Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $520.48, for a total value of $8,693,056.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,915.36. This represents a 86.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total value of $469,740.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,568,394.35. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 168,843 shares of company stock valued at $92,083,554. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $559.14 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $572.74 and a 200-day moving average of $523.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

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.