Auxier Asset Management Has $8.42 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Auxier Asset Management trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,375 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.3% of Auxier Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $3,334,383.52. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 16,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,855,043.68. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total value of $296,813.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,157 shares of company stock valued at $49,411,000 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $627.06 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $574.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $608.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $740.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Company 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.