Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,395,863 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 97,756 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.4% of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.06% of Meta Platforms worth $817,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,719,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,355 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ META traded up $3.34 on Thursday, hitting $716.91. 8,601,653 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,572,054. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $651.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $628.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on META. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $812.00 target price (up from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $664.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $808.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $719.29.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 154,285 shares of company stock valued at $105,518,153. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.