Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 66.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,672 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 20,888 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. now owns 900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the second quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. now owns 5,033 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,538,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 5,609 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,828,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 13.9% in the second quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,074 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,054,400. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 213,510 shares of company stock worth $126,396,359 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $632.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $324.56 and a 1 year high of $638.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $582.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $535.78.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $635.20.

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.