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

Key Points

• Close Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 4.2%, owning 35,266 shares valued at approximately $20.33 million at the end of the last reporting period.
• Meta reported earnings of $6.43 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, marking a 16.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.29% and a payout ratio of 8.19%.

Close Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,266 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,411 shares during the quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $20,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vestor Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 103,599 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,711,000 after acquiring an additional 30,082 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. WorthPointe LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. WorthPointe LLC now owns 851 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teramo Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $346,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $9,670,686.09. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 152,461 shares of company stock valued at $105,335,225 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded up $83.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $778.37. The stock had a trading volume of 24,533,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,531,312. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.28. 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 12 month low of $450.80 and a 12 month high of $784.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $696.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $643.47.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $801.57.

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.