Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Securities LLC

Two Sigma Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 80.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,870 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 24,263 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 0.5% of Two Sigma Securities LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Two Sigma Securities LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Maiden Cove Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of META traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $550.80. The company had a trading volume of 5,909,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,345,098. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $583.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $604.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $427.11 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Loop Capital cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $681.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total transaction of $39,897,337.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total value of $635,527.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,936,593.60. The trade was a 3.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 284,384 shares of company stock valued at $199,598,622. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Profile

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.