Sepio Capital LP Sells 518 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sepio Capital LP trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,809 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 518 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.5% of Sepio Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.1 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $504.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $648.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $610.27.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change 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 presently 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,261 shares in the company, valued at $17,268,742.26. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 549,113 shares of company stock worth $364,668,246. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $790.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $718.55.

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.