S Bank Fund Management Ltd Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd has acquired 4,683 shares of Meta Platforms, valued at approximately $2.7 million, marking a new investment in the company during the first quarter.
• Meta Platforms reported a 21.6% year-over-year increase in revenue for the latest quarter, with earnings per share of $7.14, surpassing analysts' expectations of $5.75.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.3% and demonstrating a low payout ratio of 7.60%.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,683 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $2,699,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,184,163,000 after acquiring an additional 400,927 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $785.23 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's fifty day moving average is $724.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $655.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. The company's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total value of $11,517,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 222,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $170,608,999. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $770.00, for a total value of $398,090.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 4,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,658,270. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,243 shares of company stock worth $200,605,051 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by 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.

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