Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 379,061 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 83,878 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.8% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $218,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on META. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $795.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $729.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.57, for a total value of $374,494.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,559,597.99. This represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 153,184 shares of company stock worth $105,128,004 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $717.51 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $747.90. The company's 50 day moving average is $674.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $634.57. The company has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

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.

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