Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Centre Asset Management LLC

Centre Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,183 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,680 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.6% of Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2,000.0% in the third quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 105 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded down $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $598.09. The stock had a trading volume of 2,881,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,386,771. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $343.40 and a 12 month high of $638.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $589.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $548.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total transaction of $535,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,477,780.40. This trade represents a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,131 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $652,767.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $709,329.64. The trade was a 47.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 327,116 shares of company stock valued at $198,171,544. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 25th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.88.

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.