Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Eagle Ridge Investment Management

Eagle Ridge Investment Management lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 81,750 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,109 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.8% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $41,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Meredith Wealth Planning increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 34.6% in the second quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,864 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $570,000. Catalyst Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the second quarter. Catalyst Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,932 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,999,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the second quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,708 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 21.7% during the second quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,305 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $574.41.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total value of $478,183.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 40,532 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,298.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total transaction of $478,183.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 40,532 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,298.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 418,680 shares of company stock worth $211,992,147. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $3.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $528.22. The stock had a trading volume of 6,205,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,190,164. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $502.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $490.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.03 and a 52-week high of $544.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

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.