BlueSpruce Investments LP Trims Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

BlueSpruce Investments LP lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 575,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 95,230 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 9.9% of BlueSpruce Investments LP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. BlueSpruce Investments LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $424,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after buying an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $44,119,937,000 after acquiring an additional 59,766,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,902,948,000 after acquiring an additional 682,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $23,155,393,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.16, for a total value of $344,699.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,067,594.40. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 41,959 shares of company stock valued at $26,578,191 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $644.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $665.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $706.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $819.46.

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.