Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Alkeon Capital Management LLC

Alkeon Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,142,629 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 422,000 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.6% of Alkeon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Alkeon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Meta Platforms worth $1,581,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abbot Financial Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $854,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.6% during the 2nd quarter. Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 6,050 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,465,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Vienna Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vienna Asset Management LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,493,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Arete Research set a $718.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.46.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.16, for a total value of $344,699.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,067,594.40. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total transaction of $429,501.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,959 shares of company stock worth $26,578,191. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $644.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $665.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $706.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

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.