Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Reduces Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 220,660 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.1% of Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $125,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third 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. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $595,152,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ META opened at $567.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $555.99 and its 200 day moving average is $513.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $308.33 and a 12 month high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 36.26% and a net margin of 35.55%. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total value of $252,071.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,890,460.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 251,993 shares of company stock worth $133,271,982 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.