Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Jennison Associates LLC's 4th Largest Position

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,166,153 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,081,493 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 5.3% of Jennison Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.52% of Meta Platforms worth $7,588,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,616,000 after buying an additional 43,200 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,001,044,000 after buying an additional 1,229,350 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 368,499 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $215,760,000 after buying an additional 73,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $600,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $664.00 to $783.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Roth Capital increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $752.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.10, for a total transaction of $371,655.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,069 shares in the company, valued at $18,668,010.90. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,755,013.36. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 153,473 shares of company stock worth $105,805,440. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $2.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $712.68. 8,253,539 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,556,341. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $450.80 and a 52-week high of $747.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $692.48 and a 200-day moving average of $641.78.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's 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.