Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Convergence Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 31.1%, now holding 12,023 shares valued at approximately $6.93 million, making Meta its 4th largest holding.
• GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased its stake by 67,172.9%, acquiring over 23.4 million shares valued at about $13.5 billion, representing substantial institutional interest in Meta.
• Equities analysts have mixed opinions, with price targets for Meta shares ranging from $600.00 to $812.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 31.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,023 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 5,429 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.9% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 12.0%

Meta Platforms stock traded up $83.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $778.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,533,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,531,312. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.28. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $696.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $643.47. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $450.80 and a 52-week high of $784.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 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 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Roth Capital boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $801.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company'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 value of $4,532,440.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,928,955.27. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,461 shares of company stock worth $105,335,225. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.