Darsana Capital Partners LP Has $378.17 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 50.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 750,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 10.3% of Darsana Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Darsana Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $378,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $18,597,382,000 after acquiring an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $231,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,772 shares in the company, valued at $7,152,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 approximately $187,314,333.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 359,060 shares of company stock worth $188,031,963. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on META. Citigroup raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.92.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $512.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $498.54. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $576.88. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. 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.