Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Decreased by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 188,399 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 116,353 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.9% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $94,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total transaction of $221,747.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,534.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total transaction of $221,747.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,744,534.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 357,574 shares of company stock worth $185,587,773 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on META. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $660.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $524.62 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $544.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $505.13 and its 200-day moving average is $495.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.