Rossby Financial LCC Buys 1,212 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Rossby Financial LCC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 82.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,680 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the quarter. Rossby Financial LCC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,719,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,519 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $740.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $719.29.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $718.35. The stock had a trading volume of 9,438,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,524,462. The company has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $747.90. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $658.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $630.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $740.97, for a total transaction of $383,081.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,818,837.41. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 153,677 shares of company stock worth $105,221,340. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.