Select Equity Group L.P. Lowers Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Select Equity Group L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 114,707 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 7,266 shares during the quarter. Select Equity Group L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $57,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 328,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 328,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $231,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,772 shares in the company, valued at $7,152,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 342,358 shares of company stock valued at $179,431,101. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned 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 $591.23.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of META opened at $567.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $514.38 and a 200 day moving average of $499.02. The company has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $577.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.