Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,731,078 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,345 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.9% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.07% of Meta Platforms worth $1,013,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. III Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 114.8% in the 4th quarter. III Capital Management now owns 8,000 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,684,000 after purchasing an additional 4,276 shares during the period. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,226,860 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $718,339,000 after buying an additional 17,633 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 553 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whalerock Point Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,360,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $696.39, for a total value of $9,035,660.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,971 shares in the company, valued at $146,918,094.69. This represents a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.87, for a total value of $453,012.27. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,525,441.26. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 248,463 shares of company stock valued at $175,403,314. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Loop Capital cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $800.00 price target (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $681.95.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded down $5.44 on Wednesday, hitting $549.00. 27,728,501 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,382,210. The company has a 50 day moving average of $581.11 and a 200-day moving average of $604.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $427.11 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

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.