Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3%, selling 2,421 shares and holding 898,538 shares valued at $517.88 million, making it the company's 7th largest position in their portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in Meta, with Price T Rowe Associates acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares, raising their total to over $24.77 billion in holdings.
• Analysts are optimistic about Meta's performance, with price targets raised significantly by firms such as Moffett Nathanson and Morgan Stanley, suggesting a strong buy sentiment for the stock.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 898,538 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,421 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.5% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $517,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total transaction of $399,835.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,035 shares in the company, valued at $19,436,673.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.26, for a total transaction of $393,054.42. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,005,049.68. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 275,024 shares of company stock valued at $199,983,159. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $7.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $769.30. 7,308,601 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,419,927. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $714.53 and a 200 day moving average of $651.20. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $784.75. The company has a market cap of $1.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Company 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.