Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 661,923 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 926.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 733,358 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 661,923 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.1% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $369,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,695,722,000 after buying an additional 4,440,229 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $65,960,215,000 after buying an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,733,731,000 after buying an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $595,152,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $406,316,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $3.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $572.81. The stock had a trading volume of 6,509,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,551,471. The business's 50 day moving average is $521.88 and its 200-day moving average is $501.35. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.90, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $583.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business's revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.87, for a total transaction of $4,615,448.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 178,099 shares in the company, valued at $94,191,218.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.87, for a total transaction of $4,615,448.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 178,099 shares in the company, valued at $94,191,218.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 308,462 shares of company stock worth $162,308,065 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $598.08.

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.