Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Trimmed by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,006 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,059 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.5% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in META. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in 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 during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 221.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $563.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $572.05 and a 200 day moving average of $523.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $313.66 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total transaction of $469,740.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,568,394.35. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 168,843 shares of company stock valued at $92,083,554. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on META. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

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.