Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,252,759 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 191,757 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.9% of Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $717,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,582,876,000 after buying an additional 342,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total value of $8,836,861.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,019 shares in the company, valued at $29,110,002.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total transaction of $8,836,861.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,110,002.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,807 shares of company stock worth $93,851,617 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $580.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $313.66 and a one year high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $564.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $518.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for 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%. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

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.