Artemis Investment Management LLP Lowers Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Artemis Investment Management LLP reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 524,744 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 116,002 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 3.2% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $254,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 233,512 shares of company stock valued at $113,597,536. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 price objective (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.0 %

META traded down $15.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $504.22. 15,812,738 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,444,535. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $479.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $452.69. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

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.