Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 221,310 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 32,369 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.8% of Gabelli Funds LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $111,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during 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 buying an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP grew its position in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $578.92.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ META opened at $564.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $573.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $507.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $497.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,737,915.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,737,915.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 365,761 shares of company stock valued at $190,846,038. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.