Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC

Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,597 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $66,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,244,201 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $499,020,000 after acquiring an additional 249,926 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 284.0% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $813,000. Finally, Oxford Financial Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.9% in the first quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded down $2.65 on Wednesday, hitting $497.11. 2,216,606 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,939,840. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $493.16 and its 200 day moving average is $396.01. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $207.13 and a 52 week high of $531.49. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.77, for a total transaction of $7,513,615.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,439,788 shares of company stock worth $684,542,792. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About 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.