JAT Capital Mgmt LP Sells 15,662 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

JAT Capital Mgmt LP cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 51.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,000 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 15,662 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.4% of JAT Capital Mgmt LP's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. JAT Capital Mgmt LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $24.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $597.02. 24,702,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,455,871. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average is $575.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $603.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.87, for a total transaction of $453,012.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,525,441.26. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total transaction of $279,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,443,524. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 237,017 shares of company stock worth $167,207,524 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

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.