iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $163.66 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 11.2%, owning 283,962 shares valued at approximately $163.66 million, making it the firm's fifth largest position.
• Wall Street analysts have increased their price targets for Meta Platforms, with ratings indicating a strong market interest, as evidenced by the average target price of $822.41 and the majority assigning a "buy" or "outperform" rating.
• Meta Platforms recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing a yield of 0.3%, and the company reported impressive earnings with an EPS of $7.14 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 283,962 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 35,736 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.8% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $163,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,616,000 after acquiring an additional 43,200 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on META. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of META stock opened at $769.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $714.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $651.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $784.75.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $768.67, for a total value of $12,181,113.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total transaction of $11,517,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 222,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $170,608,999. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 275,024 shares of company stock worth $199,983,159 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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