Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Buys 11,010 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 34.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,280 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,010 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.0% of Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benchstone Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $23,749,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $785.18, for a total transaction of $814,231.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 292,211 shares of company stock worth $215,232,155. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $780.08 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $720.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $653.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $795.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 7.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" 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 on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.