Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,106 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,106 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.6% of Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $50,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $554.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $568.11 and a 200 day moving average of $520.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.94, for a total transaction of $8,800,951.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,292 shares in the company, valued at $24,393,106.48. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 158,200 shares of company stock valued at $84,533,106. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.