Grimes & Company Inc. Sells 1,227 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Grimes & Company Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,949 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,227 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 0.8% of Grimes & Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $621.63.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total transaction of $214,849.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,057.56. 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 is accessible through this link. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 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 $2,663,825.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total transaction of $214,849.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,684,057.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $573.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $551.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $510.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 10.21%.

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.