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

Aua Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,945 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.2% of Aua Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Aua Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the second quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 2,331 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 457 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,570 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 189 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $313.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $310.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $353.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, forty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.79.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $302.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $778.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.09 and a fifty-two week high of $326.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $302.40 and a 200 day moving average of $260.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 722 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.00, for a total value of $203,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,722,796. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,032 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.19, for a total value of $2,459,318.08. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,548,129.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.00, for a total transaction of $203,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,478 shares in the company, valued at $9,722,796. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,457 shares of company stock worth $12,273,577 over the last ninety days. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.