Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Has $15.31 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,604 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.3% of Bridgewater Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $2,243,603,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $736.05.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 153,764 shares of company stock worth $105,721,208 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4%

META traded up $2.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $704.28. 12,743,944 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,336,421. The company has a market cap of $1.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $686.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $638.34. 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 one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $747.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

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.