Fernwood Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Fernwood Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,669 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 506 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.9% of Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 48.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,886,000 after buying an additional 16,138 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.8% during the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 18,773 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 575,938 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $279,663,000 after acquiring an additional 124,357 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,781 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $572.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $557.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $514.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.44 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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 MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $513.09, for a total transaction of $8,569,629.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,618,380.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $513.09, for a total transaction of $8,569,629.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,618,380.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total transaction of $221,747.96. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,534.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 243,919 shares of company stock worth $129,296,067 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.