Sciencast Management LP Sells 1,947 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sciencast Management LP cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 44.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,947 shares during the quarter. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 294,278 shares of company stock worth $146,060,559. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $498.87 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $492.56 and a 200 day moving average of $466.78. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $542.81. The company has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $593.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.64.

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.