Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by CX Institutional

CX Institutional raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 20.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,807 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,168 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $20,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,355 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META traded down $0.78 on Thursday, reaching $693.36. 7,303,916 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,503,798. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $597.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $617.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.96, for a total transaction of $5,476,691.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,550,434.92. This represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,201 shares of company stock worth $56,377,837 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Raymond James reduced their target price 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. Moffett Nathanson raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $704.26.

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.