Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Indie Asset Partners LLC

Key Points

• Indie Asset Partners LLC reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 22.6%, now holding 4,457 shares valued at approximately $2.57 million, making it the 4th largest position in their portfolio.
• Insider sales included COO Javier Olivan and insider Jennifer Newstead, who sold shares for a total exceeding $743,000, with insiders owning 13.61% of the company’s stock.
• Meta Platforms recently reported earnings of $7.14 EPS, surpassing estimates and generating revenues of approximately $47.52 billion for the quarter, marking a 21.6% increase year over year.

Indie Asset Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,457 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.2% of Indie Asset Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Indie Asset Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $26.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $776.37. 15,753,485 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,660,116. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $450.80 and a 52-week high of $784.75. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $701.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $646.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The company's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 118,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,928,955.27. This trade represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,372 shares of company stock worth $105,348,896 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Pivotal Research raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $820.32.

Meta Platforms Company 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.