HS Management Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,490 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 65,860 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 5.5% of HS Management Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. HS Management Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $85,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $16,799,612,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,733,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $595,152,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of META stock opened at $572.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $557.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $514.31.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.
In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $513.09, for a total transaction of $8,569,629.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,654 shares in the company, valued at $50,618,380.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $513.09, for a total value of $8,569,629.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,618,380.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 243,919 shares of company stock worth $129,296,067. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $634.10.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
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.
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