Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 443,644 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 37,547 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.5% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $253,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Maiden Cove Capital LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.57, for a total transaction of $374,494.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,107 shares in the company, valued at $19,559,597.99. This represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.51, for a total value of $370,952.67. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,263,653.36. This represents a 6.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 153,792 shares of company stock valued at $105,466,325. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $9.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $717.51. 10,847,750 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,488,679. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $747.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $672.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $633.41.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $795.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $803.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $664.00 to $783.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $729.38.

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.