Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is TCW Group Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

TCW Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 555,726 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,558 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.8% of TCW Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $318,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 25.0% during the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,462 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,286,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 11,194 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,425,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Main Line Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $236,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 41,392 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,694,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $619.32 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $319.99 and a 52 week high of $629.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $581.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $535.09.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results 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. 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on META. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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 issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $635.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at $19,848,320.64. This represents a 2.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.84, for a total value of $14,268,740.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 164,201 shares of company stock valued at $95,420,559. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.