Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Flossbach Von Storch AG

Flossbach Von Storch AG trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 190,255 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 35,931 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $67,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 183,244,796 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $55,011,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733,182 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 5,001,647 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,890,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,978 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $4,223,148,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,003,927 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,906,009,000 after purchasing an additional 946,871 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,440,278 shares of company stock valued at $684,796,490. Company insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $11.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $506.07. 3,871,718 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,891,867. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.17, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $493.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $396.70. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $207.13 and a 52 week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 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 issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.15.

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.