Martingale Asset Management L P Lowers Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Martingale Asset Management L P trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,149 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,265 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.9% of Martingale Asset Management L P’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. UBS Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $569.20 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $313.66 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $574.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $526.33. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. This represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,362,687. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 106,239 shares of company stock valued at $59,681,541 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.