Lindenwold Advisors INC Trims Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Lindenwold Advisors INC sold 14.6% of its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc., leaving them with 4,884 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million.
• Meta Platforms reported impressive financial results, earning $7.14 per share and generating $47.52 billion in revenue for the quarter, outperforming analysts' expectations.
• Research analysts have increased their price targets for Meta Platforms, with Oppenheimer revising their target from $775 to $870, while Cantor Fitzgerald raised theirs to $920.

Lindenwold Advisors INC decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,884 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 833 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.6% of Lindenwold Advisors INC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Lindenwold Advisors INC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.1% during the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 207,261 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $119,457,000 after acquiring an additional 25,677 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 909,132 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $523,988,000 after acquiring an additional 27,014 shares during the last quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $782,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,454 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,165,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Momentous Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.6% in the first quarter. Momentous Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,123 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $10.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $761.83. 8,992,014 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,465,054. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $784.75. The business's 50-day moving average price is $709.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $648.93.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities reduced their price objective 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,755,013.36. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.26, for a total value of $393,054.42. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,005,049.68. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 199,509 shares of company stock worth $141,509,323. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.