Deepwater Asset Management LLC Has $14.93 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Deepwater Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,747 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,957 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 5.6% of Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the 4th 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. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $509.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $480.72 and its 200 day moving average is $458.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.51, for a total value of $253,089.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,167,719.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 218,086 shares of company stock worth $106,423,370 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently 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.