Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Decreased by Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd

Key Points

• Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd has reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 50.8%, now owning 252,714 shares valued at approximately $145.65 million.
• Despite recent sales by insiders, Meta's stock has performed well, with earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14 for the latest quarter, significantly surpassing analyst expectations.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Meta, with estimates now ranging from $845 to $980, indicating strong confidence in the company's growth potential.

Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 50.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 252,714 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 261,333 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.5% of Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $145,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $785.23 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $724.43 and its 200-day moving average is $655.57. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,243 shares of company stock worth $200,605,051 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned 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 $822.41.

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.

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