Covenant Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Covenant Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,147 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.8% of Covenant Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,440,868 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,266,531,000 after acquiring an additional 263,063 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,915,451,000 after buying an additional 118,298 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,754,450 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,911,029,000 after buying an additional 208,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,504,600 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,723,493,000 after buying an additional 17,100 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total transaction of $469,740.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,568,394.35. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,141 shares of company stock worth $83,390,497. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.7 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $559.14 on Monday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $572.74 and its 200 day moving average is $524.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

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.