Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Sells 51 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,555 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,324 shares of company stock valued at $132,218,368. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Pivotal Research initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $619.20.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $582.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $547.72 and a 200 day moving average of $509.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.