LGT Group Foundation Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 66.1%, acquiring an additional 88,341 shares in the first quarter, bringing their total to 222,048 shares valued at approximately $127.98 million.
• Insider trading activity includes Christopher K. Cox selling 60,000 shares for $46.56 million, which reflects a 20.19% decrease in his ownership, while Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares worth about $11.94 million.
• Meta Platforms reported $7.14 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $47.52 billion, marking a 21.6% year-over-year growth, alongside several analysts raising their price targets for the stock.

LGT Group Foundation boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 66.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,048 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 88,341 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.8% of LGT Group Foundation's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $127,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,743,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. ABLE Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,251,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Orin Green Financial LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 795 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of META traded up $3.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $785.23. 13,361,371 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,931,265. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $724.43 and a 200 day moving average of $655.43.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total value of $399,835.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,436,673.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total value of $11,517,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 222,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,608,999. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,243 shares of company stock worth $200,605,051 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on META shares. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms 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.