Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Decreased by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 571,028 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 104,448 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 4.1% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $329,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,406,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total transaction of $342,322.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,507,676.90. The trade was a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,002 shares of company stock valued at $73,353,340 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded up $13.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $712.20. The stock had a trading volume of 13,806,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,499,652. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $625.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $624.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $803.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $712.69.

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.