Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Eagle Bay Advisors LLC

Eagle Bay Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 22.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,095 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 308 shares during the quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 94.4% during the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $2.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $516.68. The stock had a trading volume of 4,282,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,049,787. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $544.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $503.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.02. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total transaction of $8,404,112.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 301,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,697,700.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total value of $8,404,112.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 301,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,697,700.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.67, for a total value of $194,328.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,058,069.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 329,890 shares of company stock worth $170,604,385 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $574.41.

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.