Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Nicola Wealth Management LTD.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,500 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.3% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $595,152,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Meta Platforms by 30.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,411,009 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,656,318,000 after purchasing an additional 788,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total value of $8,906,174.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,377,575.12. This trade represents a 36.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 141,498 shares of company stock worth $75,732,154 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3 %

META stock traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $555.72. The stock had a trading volume of 10,358,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,043,996. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $568.11 and a 200 day moving average of $521.17. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.10.

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.