Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Nexus Investment Management ULC's 3rd Largest Position

Nexus Investment Management ULC lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,959 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 12,979 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 4.6% of Nexus Investment Management ULC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Nexus Investment Management ULC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $46,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,915,451,000 after purchasing an additional 118,298 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,686,000 after buying an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,573,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $235,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 721,339 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $412,606,000 after purchasing an additional 91,773 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $651.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $5,166,159.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,776,261.56. The trade was a 14.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total value of $237,128.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,531.12. This represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 495,269 shares of company stock valued at $300,888,396 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $3.69 on Tuesday, reaching $616.46. The stock had a trading volume of 11,584,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,100,104. The business's 50 day moving average is $597.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $557.77. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $381.16 and a 1 year high of $638.40. The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

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.