Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 27,302 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,668 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 27,302 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.7% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $81,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,440,868 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,266,531,000 after purchasing an additional 263,063 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,754,450 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,911,029,000 after acquiring an additional 208,677 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,504,600 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,723,493,000 after acquiring an additional 17,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,150,374 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,520,720,000 after purchasing an additional 338,263 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $559.14 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $313.66 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $572.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $524.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $520.48, for a total transaction of $8,693,056.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,657 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,915.36. This represents a 86.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $345,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,135,544. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 168,843 shares of company stock worth $92,083,554 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on META. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

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.