KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 1.8% in the first quarter, making it the firm's 5th largest position, valued at approximately $447.7 million.
• Analysts have issued mostly positive ratings for Meta, with several raising their price targets significantly, resulting in an average consensus price target of $752.33 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Meta Platforms recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, which represents an annualized amount of $2.10 and a yield of 0.29%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 776,810 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,500 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.2% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $447,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Financial Partners Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 35.4% during the first quarter. Financial Partners Group Inc now owns 3,395 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.2% during the first quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Oakwell Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $299,000. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 2,493 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,859,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.10, for a total value of $371,655.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,668,010.90. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 152,461 shares of company stock valued at $105,335,225. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target 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. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna reduced 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. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $754.07.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $4.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $695.21. The stock had a trading volume of 26,166,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,688,610. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $696.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $643.47. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $450.80 and a twelve month high of $747.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

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.