Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Trimmed by Avory & Company LLC

Avory & Company LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,539 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,313 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 7.1% of Avory & Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Avory & Company LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $159,841,000 after buying an additional 32,423 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Signify Wealth purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 223,788 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $79,212,000 after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,880,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $431.67. 12,696,941 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,357,072. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $493.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $406.15. The company has a market cap of $1.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.18, for a total transaction of $245,578.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,552,865.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,276,482 shares of company stock valued at $620,451,095. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Meta Platforms

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.