Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,803 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 725 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.7% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 35.1% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 27,272 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,751,000 after buying an additional 7,089 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 23,107 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,651,000 after acquiring an additional 2,391 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 706,450 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 17,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DHK Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $252,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $612.77 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $370.95 and a twelve month high of $638.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $596.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $556.39.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $652,767.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $709,329.64. The trade was a 47.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total transaction of $547,108.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,105 shares in the company, valued at $18,804,216.70. This represents a 2.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 496,174 shares of company stock valued at $301,408,499. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.