Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,151,082 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 169,559 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 6.1% of Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,666,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $595,152,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $369,774,000 after acquiring an additional 661,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $285,690,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at $311,493,681. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,656 shares of company stock worth $61,933,867. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $573.54 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $573.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $525.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

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.