Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Has $98.31 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,897 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,718 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.4% of Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $98,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded down $5.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $592.49. The company had a trading volume of 10,401,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,465,666. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $568.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $604.75. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.52, for a total transaction of $545,710.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,656 shares in the company, valued at $15,201,693.12. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 155,689 shares of company stock worth $109,097,842 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on META. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Capital increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $696.45.

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.