Northcape Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 506 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total transaction of $478,183.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 40,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,416,298.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.94, for a total value of $8,800,951.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,393,106.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total value of $478,183.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,532 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,298.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 418,680 shares of company stock worth $211,992,147. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $574.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.7 %

META stock opened at $528.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $276.03 and a 1-year high of $544.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $502.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $491.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.