B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management Sells 754 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,004 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 754 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.6% of B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $2,365,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $520,662,000 after purchasing an additional 890,434 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after buying an additional 698,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 926.6% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $369,774,000 after buying an additional 661,923 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $612.77 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $370.95 and a 1-year high of $638.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $596.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $557.04.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total value of $22,746,973.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 496,174 shares of company stock worth $301,408,499 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.