Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,282,427 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 62,441 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.3% of Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Meta Platforms worth $1,306,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.0 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $554.08 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $568.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $519.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,054,400. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,200 shares of company stock worth $84,533,106 in the last 90 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.