Avory & Company LLC Trims Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Avory & Company LLC trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,539 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,313 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 7.1% of Avory & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Avory & Company LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Certuity LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 10,648 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,598,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 5,400 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,911,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,728 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 24,774 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,769,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,276,482 shares of company stock valued at $620,451,095. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded down $0.95 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $431.67. 12,696,941 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,357,072. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $493.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $406.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.85 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

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.