River Global Investors LLP Sells 4,698 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

River Global Investors LLP reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,698 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.1% of River Global Investors LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $159,841,000 after purchasing an additional 32,423 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Signify Wealth bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 223,788 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $79,212,000 after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,880,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ:META traded up $10.28 on Friday, hitting $451.96. The stock had a trading volume of 16,489,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,698,000. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $229.85 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $490.72 and its 200 day moving average is $408.34. The company has a market cap of $1.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.80.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.52, for a total transaction of $15,737,772.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,257,876 shares of company stock valued at $613,168,252 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.