Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,161 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,430 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.4% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,519 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $712.20 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $625.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $624.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $712.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 110,002 shares of company stock valued at $73,353,340. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.