Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,140 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.3% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the second quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Myecfo LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the second quarter. Myecfo LLC now owns 776 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,476,894.45. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,977 shares of company stock worth $25,834,356. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of META stock opened at $644.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $665.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $707.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.46.

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.