Swiss National Bank Sells 24,900 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank has reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 0.4%, making it the bank's 5th largest position, accounting for 2.5% of its portfolio with a valuation of approximately $3.54 billion.
• Wall Street analysts are bullish on Meta Platforms, with target price upgrades from firms like Barclays and Wedbush, resulting in a consensus price target of $822.41 and a overall rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Meta reported strong quarterly earnings with $7.14 EPS and revenue of $47.52 billion, exceeding expectations and marking a 21.6% increase compared to last year.

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,149,000 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 24,900 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.5% of Swiss National Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.24% of Meta Platforms worth $3,544,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th 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 raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orin Green Financial LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3%

Meta Platforms stock traded up $2.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $782.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,732,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,334,524. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $795.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock's fifty day moving average is $720.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $653.97.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 292,211 shares of company stock worth $215,232,155. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price target (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, HSBC upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently 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.