Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by BDF Gestion

BDF Gestion decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 47,189 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,128 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.6% of BDF Gestion’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $27,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $261,680,000 after acquiring an additional 112,047 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $254,766,000 after purchasing an additional 27,453 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,902 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $17,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Herbst Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.4% during the third quarter. Herbst Group LLC now owns 8,437 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,830,000 after buying an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthBridge Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.9% in the third quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on META. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $710.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 661,804 shares of company stock worth $407,745,741. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $689.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $613.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $567.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.10 and a 12 month high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.74% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

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.