Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Sells 3,150 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 75.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,050 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,150 shares during the quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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 approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded down $2.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $712.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,253,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,556,341. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $692.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $641.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. 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 results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $664.00 to $783.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $752.33.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 153,473 shares of company stock worth $105,805,440 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by 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.