China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 9,140 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,140 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.3% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Myecfo LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the second quarter. Myecfo LLC now owns 776 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lowered Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $819.46.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $644.23 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $665.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $707.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total value of $6,935,793.90. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total transaction of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,977 shares of company stock worth $25,834,356. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.