Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Decreased by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,008,535 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 123,500 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.5% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.08% of Meta Platforms worth $1,482,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $44,119,937,000 after buying an additional 59,766,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Arete Research set a $718.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,117.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $819.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 41,959 shares of company stock valued at $26,578,191 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3%

META opened at $644.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $665.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $706.78. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

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.