Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Global Endowment Management LP

Global Endowment Management LP reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 71.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,206 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 32,830 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.0% of Global Endowment Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Global Endowment Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $686.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total transaction of $500,462.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,943,062.60. This trade represents a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 414,901 shares of company stock valued at $282,367,368 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.7 %

META stock opened at $502.31 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $616.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $607.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Meta Platforms Company 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.