Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Plato Investment Management Ltd’s 5th Largest Position

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,658 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.4% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $25,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP increased its position in shares of 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 worth $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total transaction of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total value of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 357,987 shares of company stock valued at $185,802,769 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $536.32 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $505.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $496.05. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 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.