Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,803 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $28,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 94.4% in the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 4,054 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $159,841,000 after buying an additional 32,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voyager Global Management LP boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ:META traded up $12.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $465.70. The company had a trading volume of 14,222,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,931,730. The company has a market cap of $1.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.38 and a 1 year high of $542.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $493.20 and a 200 day moving average of $474.54.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $593.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.66.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,206,674. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,206,674. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 311,348 shares of company stock worth $154,678,120. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.