Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Lifted by Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its position in Meta Platforms by 18.6%, now holding 56,516 shares valued at approximately $32.6 million.
• A significant majority of 79.91% of Meta's stock is currently owned by institutional investors, indicating strong market confidence.
• Recent earnings results showed Meta beating EPS estimates at $7.14 with a revenue of $47.52 billion, a 21.6% increase year-over-year.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,516 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,857 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP boosted its position 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 during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:META opened at $761.83 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $711.99 and its 200-day moving average is $649.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $784.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $768.67, for a total transaction of $12,181,113.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,024 shares of company stock worth $188,466,159 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Meta Platforms

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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