Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 20.8% during the first quarter, owning a total of 151,895 shares valued at approximately $87.5 million.
• Meta Platforms reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14 for the quarter, significantly exceeding analysts’ expectations of $5.75, and had quarterly revenue of $47.52 billion.
• Meta Platforms recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, marking an annualized dividend yield of 0.3%.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 20.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,895 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,121 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.1% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $87,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,980 shares of company stock worth $105,708,832. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $750.01 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $450.80 and a fifty-two week high of $784.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $701.68 and a 200-day moving average of $645.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four 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 MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $820.32.

Meta Platforms 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.

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