Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Decreased by Driehaus Capital Management LLC

Driehaus Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,766 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 392 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.52, for a total value of $545,710.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,201,693.12. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total value of $14,194,198.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,689 shares of company stock valued at $109,097,842 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $592.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $568.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $604.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus set a $775.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $696.45.

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.