Fisher Funds Management LTD Sells 732 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Fisher Funds Management LTD cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 202,893 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 732 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.8% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Fisher Funds Management LTD's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $116,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in 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 worth $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 worth $1,462,589,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225,186 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $5.54 on Thursday, reaching $727.24. 9,905,148 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,503,230. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $672.36 and a 200-day moving average of $633.41. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $747.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $727.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.51, for a total value of $370,952.67. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,263,653.36. This represents a 6.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.57, for a total value of $374,494.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,107 shares in the company, valued at $19,559,597.99. This trade represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 153,792 shares of company stock valued at $105,466,325. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.