Sarasin & Partners LLP Cuts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sarasin & Partners LLP lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 21.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 556,803 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 151,335 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.9% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $159,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 248.6% during the 1st quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 122 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Sageworth Trust Co purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 62.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.73, for a total value of $201,243.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,811,296. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 2,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.19, for a total transaction of $657,083.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,867,485.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 722 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.73, for a total transaction of $201,243.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,811,296. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,179 shares of company stock worth $12,474,820 in the last 90 days. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $300.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $772.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.09 and a twelve month high of $326.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $302.23 and its 200 day moving average is $259.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The social networking company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.91 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 21.72%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $353.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $350.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $335.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Meta Platforms from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $313.00 to $389.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, forty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.79.

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.