AMF Tjanstepension AB Boosts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.3%, owning 471,191 shares valued at approximately $271.6 million.
• Insider transactions included sales by Jennifer Newstead and Christopher K. Cox, with Newstead selling 515 shares and Cox selling 15,000 shares, reflecting a decrease in their ownership positions.
• Analysts raised price targets for Meta shares, with estimates now ranging from $675 to $900, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 471,191 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,790 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.0% of AMF Tjanstepension AB's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $271,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 712.2% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,462,589,000 after buying an additional 2,225,186 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $1,162,918,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $2.35 on Thursday, hitting $782.43. 6,732,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,334,524. The business's 50 day moving average price is $720.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $653.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $795.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on META shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total transaction of $11,517,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 222,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,608,999. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total value of $399,835.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,035 shares in the company, valued at $19,436,673.30. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 292,211 shares of company stock worth $215,232,155 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.