Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $153.40 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 261,989 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,771 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $153,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.87, for a total transaction of $453,012.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,525,441.26. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,171 shares of company stock valued at $55,161,016. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $3.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $640.34. The stock had a trading volume of 18,351,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,531,359. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $571.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $606.72. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. 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 released its 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 return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $701.05.

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.