Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 3,312 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Shell Asset Management Co. reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,397 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,312 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.3% of Shell Asset Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $53,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.3%

META stock opened at $643.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $570.68 and its 200 day moving average is $606.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total transaction of $677,920.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,341,737.09. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction of $199,626.14. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 81,171 shares of company stock worth $55,161,016. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson dropped 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 report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $696.45.

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.