Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s 5th Largest Position

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,117,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,413,849 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.6% of Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 1.70% of Meta Platforms worth $20,937,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $2,386,617.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,272,152.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $2,386,617.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,272,152.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 311,348 shares of company stock valued at $154,678,120 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.87.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $12.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $465.70. The stock had a trading volume of 14,222,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,931,730. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $542.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $493.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $475.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Meta Platforms Company 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.