Prudential PLC Raises Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the first quarter, owning 164,898 shares worth approximately $95 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares for roughly $46.6 million, marking a 20.19% decrease in his ownership of the company.
• Meta Platforms reported earnings of $7.14 per share for the last quarter, significantly surpassing consensus estimates and demonstrating a 21.6% year-over-year revenue increase.

Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 164,898 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 915 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 0.5% of Prudential PLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Prudential PLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $95,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 269,243 shares of company stock worth $200,605,051. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4%

META stock traded up $3.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $785.23. 13,361,371 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,931,265. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $724.43 and a 200-day moving average of $655.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

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.