Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Beech Hill Advisors Inc.

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,259 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,790 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.5% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,244,201 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $499,020,000 after purchasing an additional 249,926 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 284.0% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $813,000. Finally, Oxford Financial Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 62.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.67, for a total transaction of $229,357.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,805,837.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.00, for a total value of $1,253,161.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 82,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,277,394. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.67, for a total transaction of $229,357.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,805,837.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,179 shares of company stock worth $12,474,820 in the last ninety days. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $350.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $300.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $335.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $310.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, forty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.79.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $300.31 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $772.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.09 and a 1 year high of $326.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $259.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The social networking company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.91 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 21.72%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 13.17 EPS for the current year.

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.