Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Caxton Associates LP

Caxton Associates LP lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 93.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,331 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 62,738 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Brown Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $13,313,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,296,348 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $759,025,000 after acquiring an additional 264,158 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 32,626 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $19,103,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $9.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $597.14. 13,134,064 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,435,033. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average is $572.38 and its 200 day moving average is $604.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 210,357 shares of company stock worth $148,449,468. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on META. Bank of America increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $696.45.

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.