Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Sells 1,078 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,442 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,078 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 0.5% of Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded down $13.42 on Friday, hitting $682.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,498,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,546,632. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $618.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $623.08.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total value of $296,813.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,744,547.96. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total transaction of $577,513.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,552,673.10. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,031 shares of company stock valued at $73,954,565 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $710.00.

Meta Platforms Company 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.