Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Reduced by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.9%, owning approximately 3.4 million shares valued at nearly $2 billion, making it the bank's 6th largest holding.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Meta Platforms significantly, with Royal Bank of Canada increasing its target from $740 to $840, and several others have set targets between $811 and $897.
• Meta Platforms reported $7.14 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations of $5.75, and experienced a revenue increase of 21.6% year-over-year.

Swedbank AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,426,729 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 215,023 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.6% of Swedbank AB's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Swedbank AB owned 0.14% of Meta Platforms worth $1,975,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $99,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total transaction of $11,517,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 222,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $170,608,999. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total transaction of $399,835.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,436,673.30. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,263 shares of company stock valued at $211,724,057 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $3.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $765.87. The company had a trading volume of 7,597,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,242,270. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $784.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $714.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $651.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

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.