Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Plato Investment Management Ltd's 5th Largest Position

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,696 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.4% of Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,200 shares of company stock valued at $84,533,106 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.0 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $554.08 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $313.66 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $568.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $520.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.