Capital International Investors Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Capital International Investors increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.8% of Capital International Investors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Capital International Investors owned about 1.36% of Meta Platforms worth $12,296,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 4,895 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,590 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 1,547 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 4,566 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.67, for a total value of $194,328.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,964 shares in the company, valued at $7,058,069.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.67, for a total transaction of $194,328.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,058,069.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 635,968 shares of company stock valued at $313,346,759. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $18.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $495.06. 15,676,052 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,094,891. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $258.88 and a 12 month high of $531.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $480.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $434.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $510.41.

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.