Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Forsta AP Fonden’s 5th Largest Position

Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 592,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.6% of Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $338,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total value of $214,849.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,147 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,057.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total value of $214,849.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,147 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,057.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $578.16 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $296.86 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $552.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $511.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $621.63.

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.