Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Gavilan Investment Partners LLC

Gavilan Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 13.2% of Gavilan Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Gavilan Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $790.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.1 %

META opened at $504.73 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $648.15 and a 200 day moving average of $610.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,747.13. This represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 549,113 shares of company stock valued at $364,668,246. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.