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

Thames Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,466 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,464 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 6.4% of Thames Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Thames Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vantage Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rollins Financial lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 30,657 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after buying an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total transaction of $503,908.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,954,472. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 346,666 shares of company stock valued at $180,145,414. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $660.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target for the company. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $561.35 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $564.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $507.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $497.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

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.