Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's 7th Largest Position

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 631,241 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 116,448 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.1% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $363,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $2.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $712.68. 8,253,539 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,454,932. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $691.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $640.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $450.80 and a 52-week high of $747.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $807.00 to $828.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $752.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.41, for a total value of $365,213.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 6,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,451,795.82. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,013.36. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 153,473 shares of company stock valued at $105,805,440 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.