Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Lowered by Washburn Capital Management Inc.

Washburn Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,928 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 335 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.0% of Washburn Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Washburn Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 5,658 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,239,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Vanderbilt University boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.7% during the third quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 10,329 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 14,411 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 6,255 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,310 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $621.63.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $591.80 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $296.86 and a one year high of $602.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $554.49 and a 200 day moving average of $512.18. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Activity

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, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total value of $237,128.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,531.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,818 shares of company stock worth $132,569,993. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.