Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Cullen Investment Group LTD.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,153 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 529 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $334,000. Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 26,312 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $15,406,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $701.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $673.96, for a total value of $409,767.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,837,841.52. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,664 shares of company stock valued at $35,484,670 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:META traded down $2.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $642.23. 16,230,863 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,491,179. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $578.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $610.43.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

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.