Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by North Star Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 6.9%, now holding 16,520 shares valued at approximately $9.5 million.
• Several hedge funds reported new acquisitions in Meta, with JCIC Asset Management increasing its position by 102.6% during the first quarter.
• Meta's quarterly earnings surpassed estimates, showing $7.14 EPS on revenue of $47.52 billion, reflecting a 21.6% increase compared to last year.

North Star Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,520 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,229 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,743,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,251,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orin Green Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 795 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total transaction of $373,607.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,392,423. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $336,232.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,755,013.36. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 167,298 shares of company stock valued at $116,742,790 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $820.32.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.1%

META stock traded down $8.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $768.07. The stock had a trading volume of 3,441,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,569,142. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $478.65 and a 12-month high of $784.75. The company's 50-day moving average price is $704.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $647.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. 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 company earned $5.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.