Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,742 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after buying an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,285,855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ META traded down $1.82 on Monday, reaching $515.95. 9,742,589 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,443,924. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $496.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $483.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $535,549.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,753 shares in the company, valued at $4,130,103.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total transaction of $423,150.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $535,549.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,753 shares in the company, valued at $4,130,103.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 319,158 shares of company stock worth $158,629,849 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $572.51.

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.