Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 48,147 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,791,707 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,147 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.4% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Meta Platforms worth $3,338,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. now owns 68,046 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $39,219,000 after buying an additional 17,398 shares during the period. Overbrook Management Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.9% during the first quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 39,077 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $22,522,000 after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,889,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Capitol Family Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $397,000. Finally, Patron Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $719.29.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded down $5.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $713.57. The stock had a trading volume of 9,315,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,534,414. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90. 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 company has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $647.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $627.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.27, for a total transaction of $325,160.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,857,740.89. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.89, for a total value of $365,837.91. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,145 shares in the company, valued at $19,839,129.05. The trade was a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,095 shares of company stock worth $93,076,345 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.