Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,400 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 15,800 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Argus set a $775.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $3.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $640.34. The company had a trading volume of 18,351,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,531,362. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $571.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $606.72. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total value of $677,920.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,341,737.09. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 81,171 shares of company stock valued at $55,161,016. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.