Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s 9th Largest Position

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 217,677 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,744 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.7% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $124,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after buying an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in 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 valued at $18,597,382,000 after acquiring an additional 244,803 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,582,876,000 after purchasing an additional 342,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third 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. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,302,705.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 211,416 shares of company stock valued at $112,638,243 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.0 %

META opened at $583.17 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $563.02 and its 200-day moving average is $517.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.