Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 35.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,400 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 15,800 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Garde Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 6,320 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,701,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Instrumental Wealth LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Instrumental Wealth LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $2,012,000. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $1,833,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 45,746 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $26,785,000 after purchasing an additional 4,672 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $635.50, for a total value of $329,824.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,740 shares in the company, valued at $19,535,270. The trade was a 1.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 308,686 shares in the company, valued at $209,199,589.06. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,628 shares of company stock valued at $48,380,586. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $1.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $643.58. 8,867,678 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,452,485. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $576.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $609.77. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

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.