Bank Hapoalim BM Sells 85 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bank Hapoalim BM lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,432 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.6 %

META stock opened at $531.93 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.03 and a twelve month high of $544.23. 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 $1.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $502.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $490.42.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total value of $8,906,174.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,377,575.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total value of $8,906,174.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,377,575.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 418,680 shares of company stock valued at $211,992,147. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.