Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Lifted by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,283 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 9,669 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.8% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $165,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,845 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,276 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 5,810 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $576.47 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $546.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $508.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.37.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,054,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 250,816 shares of company stock valued at $132,421,828. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.