Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Decreased by Abrams Capital Management L.P.

Abrams Capital Management L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 711,550 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 216,924 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 7.8% of Abrams Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Abrams Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $251,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 677,725 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $239,888,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,657 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 3,967 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Skopos Labs Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $3,086,000. Finally, Eagle Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 4,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $12.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $478.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,012,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,476,635. The company has a market cap of $1.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $484.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.17 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,275 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,275 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,091.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.34, for a total transaction of $37,416,316.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 886,466 shares of company stock worth $438,582,433 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.