Asset Dedication LLC Reduces Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Asset Dedication LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,444 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 645 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 712.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,462,589,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225,186 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $701.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $747.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $683.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $637.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $375,278.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,225,251.04. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 153,764 shares of company stock valued at $105,721,208 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Moffett Nathanson increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $828.00 price target (up previously from $807.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $736.05.

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.