Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.

Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 86.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,672 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 30,456 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.2% of Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after buying an additional 2,748,620 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $595,152,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.96, for a total value of $8,600,861.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,690,084.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.96, for a total value of $8,600,861.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 213,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,690,084.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 359,060 shares of company stock valued at $188,031,963. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $568.31 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $512.54 and a 200-day moving average of $498.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $576.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on META. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.92.

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.