Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd.

Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd. cut its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 90.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,000 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 97,197 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.9% of Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $24.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $597.02. 24,702,127 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,455,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $575.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $603.80. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $696.45.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total value of $279,188.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,449 shares in the company, valued at $10,443,524. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,046 shares in the company, valued at $121,588,349.12. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 237,017 shares of company stock worth $167,207,524. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

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.