APG Asset Management N.V. Has $1.08 Billion Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,305,238 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 220,932 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.9% of APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,084,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 328,662 shares in the company, valued at $187,314,333.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total value of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,314,333.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 359,060 shares of company stock worth $188,031,963 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $568.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $576.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $512.54 and its 200 day moving average is $498.54.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $578.92.

Meta Platforms 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.