GS Investments Inc. lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 880 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 3.3% of GS Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M3 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $708,000. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 121.9% during the fourth quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 608 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Unison Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.8% during the fourth quarter. Unison Asset Management LLC now owns 40,783 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,920,000 after purchasing an additional 30,452 shares during the last quarter. McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,208 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,999,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Integrity Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 42,860 shares of company stock worth $26,555,260 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms
- Positive Sentiment: Meta launched a new Meta Business Agent for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, targeting enterprise customers and giving investors a potential new revenue stream beyond advertising. Reuters article
- Positive Sentiment: Meta won a partial legal victory in Europe over the EU’s treatment of Marketplace under tech rules, easing one regulatory overhang. Reuters article
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive overall, with at least one recent upgrade to strong-buy and multiple bullish price targets tied to Meta’s commerce and AI initiatives. Finviz reference
Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.7%
Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $627.57 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $618.87 and its 200 day moving average is $636.87.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms have recently commented on META. Wedbush upgraded Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Company Profile
Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.
Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.
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