Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Trimmed by Harvard Management Co. Inc.

Harvard Management Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 61.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 498,381 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 804,500 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 25.5% of Harvard Management Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Harvard Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $287,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The sale was disclosed in a 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 dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 289,356 shares of company stock valued at $211,138,344. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $10.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $779.94. 8,731,619 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,379,538. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $795.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50 day moving average price is $718.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $653.09.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

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.