Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 81,392 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.2% of Bailard Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $46,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 48.8% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,886,000 after buying an additional 16,138 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $119,989,000. TFB Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 97.1% during the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 9,161 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,448,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 8,975 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,358,000 after buying an additional 4,662 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total value of $8,827,174.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,302,705.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 72,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,302,705.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,118 shares of company stock worth $121,237,935. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of META opened at $589.34 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $560.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $515.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

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.