Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Brown Capital Management LLC

Brown Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,968 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Brown Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,126,190 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 32,563 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,640,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. German American Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 36,895 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $21,120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 22,188 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,701,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Capital Group grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 41.4% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 6,215 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $559.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $572.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $524.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $313.66 and a twelve month high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $345,340.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,135,544. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 168,843 shares of company stock valued at $92,083,554. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.