Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Lessened by Chiron Investment Management LLC

Chiron Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,154 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 11,239 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.6% of Chiron Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Chiron Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 9.6% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 6,428 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,241,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 11.5% during the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 4.8% during the second quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 9.6% during the second quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 6.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 137,014 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,085,000 after buying an additional 8,012 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $619.32 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $319.99 and a 1 year high of $629.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $581.32 and a 200-day moving average of $535.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.20.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at $19,848,320.64. The trade was a 2.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 164,201 shares of company stock worth $95,420,559 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on META. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $635.20.

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.