Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 43.0%, acquiring an additional 500 shares to total 1,662 shares valued at $958,000.
• Insider transactions showed CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares valued at approximately $11.9 million, while Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares for about $46.6 million.
• Brokerage ratings for Meta Platforms have improved, with JPMorgan raising its price target from $795 to $875, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts.

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 43.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,662 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in 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 valued at $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th 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. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $19.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $765.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,393,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,306,713. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $724.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $655.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on META shares. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 268,251 shares of company stock worth $199,981,827. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.