Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Bamco Inc. NY

Bamco Inc. NY lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 284,930 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,213 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $163,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $574.32 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $313.66 and a one year high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $575.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $527.76.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.71.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $5,166,159.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,776,261.56. The trade was a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 106,239 shares of company stock worth $59,681,541 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.