Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is IFM Investors Pty Ltd's 5th Largest Position

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 443,644 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,547 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.5% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's 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 SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $737.00, for a total transaction of $382,503.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,626 shares in the company, valued at $20,360,362. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,756 shares of company stock worth $104,720,878 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $12.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $732.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,398,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,483,554. The company has a 50-day moving average of $665.58 and a 200-day moving average of $631.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $747.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given 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 of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $808.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $740.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $727.95.

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.