Scientech Research LLC Sells 4,331 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Scientech Research LLC decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 59.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,935 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,331 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 0.5% of Scientech Research LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Scientech Research LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,939,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 11,830 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,927,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Fjell Capital LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Finally, Wiser Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Wiser Wealth Management Inc now owns 765 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $640.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $571.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $606.72. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market cap 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 (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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total value of $13,830,734.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 308,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,199,589.06. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,852 shares of company stock valued at $41,665,958 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Wedbush increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Arete Research raised Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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