Johnson Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Johnson Financial Group LLC acquired 1,133 shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. valued at approximately $653,000 during the first quarter.
• Meta Platforms reported impressive earnings with $7.14 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $1.39, alongside a revenue of $47.52 billion.
• Insider selling has been notable, with executive Christopher K. Cox selling 15,000 shares valued at approximately $11.5 million, highlighting a trend of insider divestment.

Johnson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,133 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $653,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 valued at $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,575,962 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,977,361,000 after buying an additional 1,255,546 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $828.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of 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, HSBC raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $9.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $780.08. The company had a trading volume of 8,791,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,328,413. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $720.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $653.97. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $795.46.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total transaction of $11,517,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 222,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,608,999. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $770.00, for a total transaction of $398,090.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 4,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,658,270. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,757 shares of company stock valued at $224,823,205 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.