Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,861 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,054,513 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,469,906,000 after buying an additional 927,491 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,890,950,000 after buying an additional 1,184,978 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after buying an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,285,855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $504.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $480.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.93. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total value of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 233,512 shares of company stock valued at $113,597,536. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.05.

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.