Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $759.03 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,296,348 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 264,158 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.5% of Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Meta Platforms worth $759,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,211,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892,509 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded down $11.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $587.31. 10,422,848 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,435,615. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $573.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $604.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total value of $9,169,692.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $121,588,349.12. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.17, for a total transaction of $502,101.57. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,488,983.09. This trade represents a 3.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 222,724 shares of company stock worth $157,259,224. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $696.45.

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.