Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Lowered by ST Germain D J Co. Inc.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 98,227 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,038 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.6% of ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $56,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,582,876,000 after purchasing an additional 342,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $617.37.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,206,674. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,206,674. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,054,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,816 shares of company stock valued at $132,421,828 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $576.47 on Monday. 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 $602.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $546.53 and its 200 day moving average is $508.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio 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.