BOCHK Asset Management Ltd Has $18.96 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,123 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,337 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 5.6% of BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

META opened at $573.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $551.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $510.72.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on META shares. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Pivotal Research started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $621.63.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $18,612,808.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $18,612,808.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.