Malaga Cove Capital LLC Reduces Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,269 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 17 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.8% of Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of META opened at $771.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $784.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $709.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $648.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.41.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total value of $373,607.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,392,423. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.26, for a total transaction of $393,054.42. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,005,049.68. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 199,509 shares of company stock valued at $141,509,323. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.