Centre Asset Management LLC Has $10.33 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Centre Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,916 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,267 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.7% of Centre Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Centre Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $701.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,664 shares of company stock valued at $35,484,670 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $2.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $642.23. 16,230,863 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,491,179. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $578.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $610.43. The company has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. 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 quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share 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 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 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.