Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,742 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after buying an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,285,855,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:META traded down $1.82 on Monday, reaching $515.95. The stock had a trading volume of 9,742,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,443,924. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $496.49 and a 200 day moving average of $483.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $572.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $2,317,255.35. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,373,427.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,911 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $2,317,255.35. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,373,427.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 6,534 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $3,299,931.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 116,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,639,184.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 319,158 shares of company stock worth $158,629,849. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company 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.