Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Wallington Asset Management LLC's 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Wallington Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.2%, owning 33,112 shares valued at approximately $19 million, making it its 9th largest holding.
• Notable institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Northern Trust Corp, significantly increased their stakes in Meta Platforms, contributing to 79.91% of the stock being owned by institutional investors.
• Meta Platforms reported earnings of $7.14 per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding estimates and demonstrating a year-over-year revenue increase of 21.6%.

Wallington Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,112 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.7% of Wallington Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Wallington Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Csenge Advisory Group raised its holdings 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 worth $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the fourth 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 period. Skye Global Management LP raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 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 owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on 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 $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 289,356 shares of company stock valued at $211,138,344. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $24.13 on Tuesday, reaching $790.00. The company had a trading volume of 14,546,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,435,701. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business's 50-day moving average is $716.43 and its 200 day moving average is $652.13. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $793.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.60%.

Meta Platforms Company 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.