Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,540,724 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 370,216 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.9% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.06% of Meta Platforms worth $902,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $82,314,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,001,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,350 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $696.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total transaction of $279,188.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,443,524. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $14,488,983.09. This represents a 3.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 237,017 shares of company stock valued at $167,207,524 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $24.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $597.02. 24,702,127 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,455,871. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $575.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $603.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Meta Platforms Company 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.