Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Simon Quick Advisors LLC

Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,312 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Simon Quick Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Simon Quick Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after buying an additional 4,126,190 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $520,662,000 after buying an additional 890,434 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after buying an additional 698,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $369,774,000 after acquiring an additional 661,923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7 %

META stock traded up $11.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $647.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,039,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,840,293. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.66 and a 1 year high of $652.00. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $601.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $560.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $654.20.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.80, for a total transaction of $22,515,282.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 568,016 shares of company stock valued at $346,031,180. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.