Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Has $51.36 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,728 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 113 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.7% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $51,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 221.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $561.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $570.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $522.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total value of $8,876,444.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 11,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,050,140.64. This represents a 59.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,958 shares of company stock worth $101,181,747 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

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.