Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8%, making it the bank's 6th largest position, with shares valued at approximately $38.54 million.
• Major hedge funds have significantly raised their stakes in Meta Platforms, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing their holdings by over 67,172% in the first quarter.
• Equity analysts have raised their price targets for Meta Platforms, with estimates now ranging from $640.00 to $875.00, indicating strong growth potential and a consensus average price target of approximately $822.41.

Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,871 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.8% of Westpac Banking Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $38,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first 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 during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 222,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,608,999. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,243 shares of company stock valued at $200,605,051. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price target (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded up $3.10 on Friday, reaching $785.23. 13,361,371 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,931,265. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50-day moving average price is $724.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $655.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

About Meta Platforms

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.