Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 97.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,297 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 128,653 shares during the quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,582,876,000 after purchasing an additional 342,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $580.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $313.66 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $564.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $518.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on META. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total value of $481,650.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,437 shares in the company, valued at $22,053,185.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total transaction of $234,410.54. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,294 shares in the company, valued at $5,842,668.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total transaction of $481,650.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,053,185.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,807 shares of company stock worth $93,851,617 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.