Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Carson Advisory Inc.

Carson Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in 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 buying an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP grew its position in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of META stock opened at $524.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $505.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $495.37. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $544.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $215,586.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 13,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,098,156. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 357,574 shares of company stock valued at $185,587,773 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Bank of America lifted 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

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.