Palouse Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,231 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after buying an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after buying an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,569,705 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,157,093,000 after acquiring an additional 344,384 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $561.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $507.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $497.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $564.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,559 shares in the company, valued at $2,573,817. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total transaction of $486,636.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at $19,848,320.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on META. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. DA Davidson began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

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.