Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Lessened by B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management

B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,758 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,499 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.7% of B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vista Investment Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $288,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $913,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,183 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,585,000 after purchasing an additional 13,396 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,873,728 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,017,185,000 after purchasing an additional 94,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gibson Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $987,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $5.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $584.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,551,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,374,554. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $534.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $504.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $602.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $608.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $583.73, for a total transaction of $241,080.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,946 shares in the company, valued at $6,973,238.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 266,412 shares of company stock worth $140,058,708. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.