Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Buckingham Capital Management Inc.

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 409 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,726 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,850,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 171.4% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,844 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,098,000 after buying an additional 27,691 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 31,822 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,216,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Core Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,619 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $927,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 65,165 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,833 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $577.16 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $565.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $518.72. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued 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 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,197,043.71. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. This trade represents a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 158,200 shares of company stock valued at $84,533,106. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.