Shellback Capital LP Sells 10,000 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Shellback Capital LP decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.8% of Shellback Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Shellback Capital LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total transaction of $13,554,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 308,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,199,589.06. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 81,171 shares of company stock worth $55,161,016 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $643.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $570.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $606.39.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.