Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,266 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,363 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $52,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were 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 owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 153,764 shares of company stock worth $105,721,208 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on META shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $812.00 price objective (up from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $740.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $736.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $2.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $704.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,743,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,336,421. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $686.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $638.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. 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 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $747.90.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.