GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd Invests $9.83 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,789 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $9,830,000. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.5% of GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.00, for a total value of $243,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,576,930. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 622,844 shares of company stock valued at $409,212,161 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

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Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $10.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $596.25. 24,988,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,804,408. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $655.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $605.74. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $718.31.

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.