Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,680 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 66,967 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,680 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.9% of Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LifePlan Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. LifePlan Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 765 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Lionshead Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,313,000. Interval Partners LP acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,923,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 148,750 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $87,095,000 after purchasing an additional 12,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $802,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $592.49 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $568.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $604.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $696.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total transaction of $14,194,198.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 119,894 shares of company stock worth $83,475,065. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.