CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong Cuts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,848 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 37,452 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.6% of CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $4,223,148,000. Morgan Stanley purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $4,072,543,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,796,633,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,731,491,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $39,270,443,000 after buying an additional 5,001,647 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $500.64 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.13 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $493.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $396.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.15.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was 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 $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,440,278 shares of company stock valued at $684,796,490 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

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.