Shell Asset Management Co. Decreases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Shell Asset Management Co. reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,397 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,312 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.3% of Shell Asset Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $53,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 261,989 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $153,397,000 after acquiring an additional 35,771 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $28,177,000. Ratan Capital Management LP raised its position in Meta Platforms by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Ratan Capital Management LP now owns 45,806 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $26,820,000 after acquiring an additional 14,760 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1,563.4% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 70,295 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $41,158,000 after acquiring an additional 66,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $2,214,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $3.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $640.34. The stock had a trading volume of 18,351,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,546,315. The business's fifty day moving average is $571.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $606.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 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 given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $701.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 907 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 24,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,982,161.73. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,852 shares of company stock worth $41,665,958. 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.