Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 86.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,320 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 61,176 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,185,644 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $419,671,000 after acquiring an additional 19,355 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,701,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 19,786 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,003,000 after buying an additional 5,668 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $2,134,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Pivotal Research started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $609.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,172,468.33. 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 business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,172,468.33. 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 available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,573,817. This trade represents 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 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

META stock opened at $589.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $538.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $505.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 10.21%.

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.