Czech National Bank Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 503,007 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,015 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.7% of Czech National Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Czech National Bank's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $289,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,658,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $23.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $670.90. 15,706,506 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,486,998. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $578.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $611.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Roth Capital raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $3,334,383.52. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 16,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,855,043.68. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total value of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,056 shares of company stock valued at $35,074,903 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.