Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc

Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,385 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $3.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $587.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,092,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,337,924. The company’s 50-day moving average is $536.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $504.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Pivotal Research initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price target for the company. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at $20,172,468.33. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,443 shares of company stock valued at $133,105,284 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.