Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Has $122.43 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,872 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,627 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.9% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $122,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.0% in the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,790 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,894,000 after buying an additional 2,504 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $619.20.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total value of $520,103.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,387 shares in the company, valued at $18,612,808.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total transaction of $520,103.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,612,808.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total transaction of $214,849.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,147 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,057.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $567.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $549.53 and a 200 day moving average of $509.99. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

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.