Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Trimmed by PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd

PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,939 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 3.6% of PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 4,566 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 15,642 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 4,493 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 13,596 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,812,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META traded down $9.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $527.42. 14,715,158 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,365,660. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.38 and a 12 month high of $542.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $500.48 and a 200 day moving average of $487.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $574.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 349,174 shares of company stock valued at $175,146,777. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.