a16z Perennial Management L.P. Trims Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

a16z Perennial Management L.P. decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,136 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,766 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.6% of a16z Perennial Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. a16z Perennial Management L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $31,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. WMS Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $876,000. Consolidated Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Finally, Third View Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $27,789,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $595.19 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $604.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $625.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $865.00 to $766.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $835.64.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,393 shares of company stock worth $22,141,163 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.