Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Lifted by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,114,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 206,502 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.3% of Nordea Investment Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.08% of Meta Platforms worth $1,249,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of META. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2,000.0% during the third quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 105 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,172,468.33. This trade represents a 2.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 326,624 shares of company stock worth $197,875,975. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $604.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $589.88 and a 200-day moving average of $549.56. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $343.40 and a one year high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

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.