Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $5.34 Billion Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,273,234 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 229,717 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.37% of Meta Platforms worth $5,344,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 55,817 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $32,171,000 after buying an additional 3,086 shares during the period. Elite Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.0% in the first quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. now owns 25,726 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $14,827,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Apollon Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 49.0% in the first quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.3% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 83,369 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $48,051,000 after purchasing an additional 32,316 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 19.0% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 38,843 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $22,387,000 after acquiring an additional 6,211 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.50, for a total transaction of $370,947.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,819 shares in the company, valued at $4,892,632.50. This trade represents a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $375,278.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,225,251.04. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 153,764 shares of company stock valued at $105,721,208. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $2.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $704.28. 12,743,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,336,421. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $686.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $638.34. The company has a market cap of $1.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $828.00 target price (up previously from $807.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $736.05.

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.