Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,803 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 725 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.7% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $612.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $596.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $556.39. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $370.95 and a 12 month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total value of $237,128.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,531.12. This represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total transaction of $520,103.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,387 shares in the company, valued at $18,612,808.90. This represents a 2.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 496,174 shares of company stock worth $301,408,499. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.05.

About Meta Platforms

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.