North Star Asset Management Inc. Sells 645 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

North Star Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,749 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 645 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $627.06 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $574.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $608.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $701.05.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $686.28, for a total value of $417,258.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,361,815.60. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total transaction of $298,418.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,272 shares in the company, valued at $6,453,384. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,157 shares of company stock worth $49,411,000 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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