Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Boosts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 45.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 347,378 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 108,555 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.7% of Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $168,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,960,215,000 after buying an additional 3,104,550 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,054,513 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,469,906,000 after acquiring an additional 927,491 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,285,855,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440,229 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on META shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.64.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $534.69 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $542.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $490.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.15 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total transaction of $8,916,696.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,104,462.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total transaction of $8,916,696.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,104,462.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 294,768 shares of company stock worth $146,314,257 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.