Cidel Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,135 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $812.00 price objective (up previously from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $808.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, June 27th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $664.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $719.29.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $0.66 during trading on Monday, reaching $718.35. The company had a trading volume of 9,438,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,524,462. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $658.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $630.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $747.90.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $740.97, for a total value of $383,081.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,818,837.41. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 153,677 shares of company stock valued at $105,221,340 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.