BayBridge Capital Group LLC Trims Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

BayBridge Capital Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.1% of BayBridge Capital Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. BayBridge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.8% in the first quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 25,800 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,981 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,876,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 8,286 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,024,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Virginia VA bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $242,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,151 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $573.25 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $551.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $510.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $621.63.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company 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.