Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,459 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,427 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.8% of AIA Group Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total value of $291,675.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,853,183.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total value of $7,722,037.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total value of $291,675.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,853,183.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock worth $677,574,550. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of META opened at $506.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $494.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $397.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.13 and a 1-year high of $531.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $465.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.53.

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.