Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. has increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9%, making it the firm's 7th largest holding, valued at approximately $47.97 million.
• Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, sold 2,361 shares valued at around $1.69 million, while insiders have sold a total of 152,980 shares valued at over $105 million in the last 90 days.
• Meta Platforms recently reported a bullish earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14, significantly higher than the expected $5.75, along with a quarterly revenue increase of 21.6%.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,222 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.2% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on META shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report 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 stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $8.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $771.79. 6,427,694 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,569,056. The business has a 50 day moving average of $707.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $648.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $784.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%. The firm'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 posted $5.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total value of $373,607.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,550 shares in the company, valued at $18,392,423. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the sale, the director owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,013.36. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 167,298 shares of company stock valued at $116,742,790 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.