China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,904 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.1% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the fourth 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 712.2% during the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.57, for a total transaction of $374,494.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,559,597.99. The trade was a 1.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 153,792 shares of company stock valued at $105,466,325. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $717.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $747.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $674.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $634.17.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given 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 yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $808.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, June 27th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $729.38.

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.

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