Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $203.28 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund has reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms by 19.8%, now owning 352,698 shares valued at approximately $203.28 million.
• Meta Platforms recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14, surpassing analysts' expectations of $5.75, and had a revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter.
• Insider sales included Christopher K. Cox selling 60,000 shares for around $46.56 million, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares totaling approximately $11.94 million.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 352,698 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 87,100 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.4% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $203,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $785.23 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $724.43 and a 200 day moving average of $655.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price target (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price target (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% 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, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,243 shares of company stock valued at $200,605,051 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.

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