Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Trimmed by Channing Global Advisors LLC

Channing Global Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,147 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,942 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.9% of Channing Global Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Channing Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.6 %

META stock traded down $2.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $438.81. 19,389,490 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,222,158. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.85 and a 12 month high of $531.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $495.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $403.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559 over the last three months. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms 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.