Oxford Asset Management LLP Invests $1.22 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,078 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,217,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.6% of Oxford Asset Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $645.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Pivotal Research increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $679.02.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.87, for a total value of $453,012.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,525,441.26. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 308,068 shares of company stock worth $214,968,924. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $547.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $587.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $604.44. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $427.11 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

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.

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