Sterneck Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sterneck Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,366 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.3% of Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $595,152,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $515,383,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,308,262.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,308,262.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 300,228 shares of company stock worth $158,005,260 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $582.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $524.47 and a 200-day moving average of $501.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $583.36.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $598.08.

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.