Regal Partners Ltd Sells 16,634 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Regal Partners Ltd reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 29.6% in the first quarter, now holding 39,492 shares worth approximately $22.76 million.
• Meta Platforms reported a net margin of 39.99% with quarterly earnings of $7.14 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $1.39.
• Research firms have recently upgraded their price targets for Meta, with Bank of America setting a target of $900.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" across 39 analysts.

Regal Partners Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 29.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,492 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 16,634 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.3% of Regal Partners Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Regal Partners Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:META traded up $3.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $785.23. 13,361,371 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,931,265. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 1.63 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $724.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $655.43.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $770.00, for a total transaction of $398,090.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 4,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,658,270. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total value of $11,517,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 222,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,608,999. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,243 shares of company stock valued at $200,605,051. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on META. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.