BOCHK Asset Management Ltd Purchases 18,180 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 55.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,730 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,180 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 16.5% of BOCHK Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $13,727,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,225,186 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $9.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $717.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,855,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,460,014. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $674.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $634.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $747.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Wedbush boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $812.00 target price (up previously from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $729.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,928,955.27. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 153,792 shares of company stock valued at $105,466,325. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.