Catalina Capital Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Catalina Capital Group LLC decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 56.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,821 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,357 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.8% of Catalina Capital Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $664.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.00.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,312 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.13, for a total transaction of $5,836,104.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,048,632.36. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,031 shares of company stock worth $73,954,565. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.9%

META stock opened at $682.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $618.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $623.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.19%.

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.