Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by SOL Capital Management CO

SOL Capital Management CO decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,635 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,170 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of SOL Capital Management CO’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 183,244,796 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,011,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733,182 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $39,270,443,000 after acquiring an additional 5,001,647 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,890,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,978 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $4,223,148,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,003,927 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,906,009,000 after acquiring an additional 946,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $516.90 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $485.54 and its 200-day moving average is $388.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.13 and a 12-month high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $500.88.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.99, for a total value of $7,183,368.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.99, for a total value of $7,183,368.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,479,131 shares of company stock valued at $698,997,261 in the last quarter. Insiders own 14.03% 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.