Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Decreased by QCM Cayman Ltd.

QCM Cayman Ltd. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 58.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 681 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 960 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 13.0% of QCM Cayman Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. QCM Cayman Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 1,547 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 4,566 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 730 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 736 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of META stock traded up $14.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $496.10. 14,926,181 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,131,002. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $207.13 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $494.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $401.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $520.28.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total transaction of $7,722,037.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total value of $7,722,037.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,391,935 shares of company stock valued at $666,288,408 in the last three months. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.