Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Trimmed by Freemont Management S.A.

Key Points

• Freemont Management S.A. has reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 9.1%, resulting in holdings valued at $7.49 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Meta's recent quarterly earnings beat analyst expectations with an EPS of $6.43 and revenue of $42.31 billion, marking a 16.1% year-over-year increase.
• Insider selling activity includes CEO Mark Zuckerberg offloading 2,361 shares valued at approximately $1.69 million, while insiders collectively sold 151,944 shares worth over $104 million last quarter.

Freemont Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,000 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.5% of Freemont Management S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Freemont Management S.A.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,013.36. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $105,708,832. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $815.09.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $23.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $750.01. The stock had a trading volume of 18,985,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,659,175. The firm's fifty day moving average is $699.22 and its 200 day moving average is $644.61. 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 52 week low of $450.80 and a 52 week high of $784.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's 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.