Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,648 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,802 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 4.2% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $36,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Valley Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $710.00.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Price Performance
NASDAQ:META traded down $13.42 on Friday, reaching $682.35. The stock had a trading volume of 22,498,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,512,174. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $618.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $623.14.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 111,031 shares of company stock valued at $73,954,565. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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