Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Boosted by Rathbones Group PLC

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 39.4% during the 1st quarter, now owning 447,044 shares worth approximately $257.66 million.
• Meta's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $7.14 earnings per share against an expected $5.75, with revenues of $47.52 billion, up 21.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 7.60%.

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 39.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 447,044 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 126,280 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.2% of Rathbones Group PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $257,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $785.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $724.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $655.57. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $770.00, for a total transaction of $398,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 4,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,658,270. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total transaction of $399,835.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,436,673.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 269,243 shares of company stock worth $200,605,051. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.

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