Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Increased by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 405.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 556,270 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 446,285 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 7.7% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $318,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 48.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,886,000 after purchasing an additional 16,138 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 67,195 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $32,629,000 after purchasing an additional 12,301 shares during the period. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 453,672 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $220,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,706 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 240.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,127,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 227,024 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $110,238,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total value of $481,650.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,053,185.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 211,416 shares of company stock worth $112,638,243 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of META opened at $583.17 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $313.66 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $563.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $517.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms 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.