Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Soros Capital Management LLC

Soros Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,130 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 4.4% of Soros Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Soros Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $27,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 893,682 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $523,260,000 after purchasing an additional 119,136 shares during the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 578 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Goldstream Capital Management Ltd boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldstream Capital Management Ltd now owns 47,293 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,691,000 after purchasing an additional 5,645 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 134,567 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $78,792,000 after purchasing an additional 31,552 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,267,550 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $742,208,000 after buying an additional 42,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $501.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $608.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $607.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total value of $296,813.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 379,901 shares of company stock valued at $260,806,516. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $684.10.

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.