Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

First Eagle Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,545,098 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,685 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 4.0% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,787,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first 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 during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of META opened at $561.35 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $564.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $506.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $496.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at $19,848,320.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

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.