Fort L.P. Sells 129 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Fort L.P. decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,088 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.6% of Fort L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Fort L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 48.8% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,886,000 after purchasing an additional 16,138 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 18,773 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,116,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 575,938 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $279,663,000 after acquiring an additional 124,357 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.0% during the first quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,781 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $572.05 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $557.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $514.31. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $313.66 and a one year high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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 shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,197,043.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 243,919 shares of company stock worth $129,296,067. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.