Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Greenwood Gearhart Inc.

Key Points

• Greenwood Gearhart Inc. has reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.6%, holding 27,683 shares valued at approximately $15.96 million, making it the firm's 28th largest investment.
• Insider transactions revealed that Director Robert M. Kimmitt and another insider sold a total of 984 shares, with significant declines in their ownership percentages.
• Recent analyst ratings show a majority bullish stance towards Meta, with analysts raising price targets and maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,683 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,033 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.1% of Greenwood Gearhart Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $812.00 price objective (up from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $664.00 to $783.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $754.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 118,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,928,955.27. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,944 shares of company stock valued at $104,965,570 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $6.16 on Tuesday, hitting $711.47. The company had a trading volume of 3,558,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,318,961. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $694.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $642.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $450.80 and a twelve month high of $747.90.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Meta Platforms 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.