Sphera Funds Management LTD. Sells 8,315 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sphera Funds Management LTD. reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,001 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 8,315 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.2% of Sphera Funds Management LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Sphera Funds Management LTD.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.77, for a total value of $585,713.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,982,161.73. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total transaction of $447,530.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,270,899.46. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 62,852 shares of company stock valued at $41,665,958. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded down $3.54 on Friday, reaching $640.34. The company had a trading volume of 18,351,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,546,315. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $571.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $606.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

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.