Hyperion Asset Management Ltd Has $166.49 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Hyperion Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 284,343 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,958 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 5.5% of Hyperion Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $166,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,211,967,000 after buying an additional 1,892,509 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,422,186.45. This represents a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total value of $677,920.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,787 shares in the company, valued at $26,341,737.09. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,324 shares of company stock valued at $68,637,452 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $656.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,396,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,472,600. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $569.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $605.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Pivotal Research decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $696.45.

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.