Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Lessened by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $664.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.29.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $3.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $716.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,601,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,544,817. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $658.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $630.04.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $737.00, for a total value of $382,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,360,362. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 154,285 shares of company stock valued at $105,518,153 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.