Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 8,215 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,269,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 8,215 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.4% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,673,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake 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 worth $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $537.95 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $544.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $505.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $496.34. The company has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on META. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total transaction of $1,029,156.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 357,575 shares of company stock valued at $185,595,945. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.