Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Reduced by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,072 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,087 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.5% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $52,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,126,190 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $595,152,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,662,000 after purchasing an additional 890,434 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after purchasing an additional 698,884 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of META traded up $5.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $616.11. The stock had a trading volume of 8,080,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,392,207. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $592.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $552.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $358.61 and a twelve month high of $638.40.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $646.90.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $5,166,159.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,776,261.56. This trade represents a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.42, for a total value of $8,023,999.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 420,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,869,360.30. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 410,536 shares of company stock valued at $249,024,275. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.