Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $40.40 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 80,129 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,467 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.6% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after buying an additional 244,803 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in 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 worth $12,296,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,569,705 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,157,093,000 after acquiring an additional 344,384 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $561.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $506.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $496.78. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $564.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total transaction of $486,636.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total transaction of $486,636.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.57, for a total value of $214,995.41. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 13,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,863,715.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425. Company 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.