Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $527.48 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,046,133 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 524,384 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.9% of Renaissance Technologies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $527,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during 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. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $537.95 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $544.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $505.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $496.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.57, for a total transaction of $214,995.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 13,185 shares in the company, valued at $6,863,715.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 357,575 shares of company stock valued at $185,595,945. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.