AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 701,914 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 157,902 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.2% of AGF Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $404,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3%
Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $782.13 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $795.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $722.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $654.81.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.60%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on META
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,037 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $785.18, for a total value of $814,231.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total value of $399,835.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,035 shares in the company, valued at $19,436,673.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,243 shares of company stock valued at $200,605,051 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Meta Platforms
(
Free Report)
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.
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