Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,014 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,370 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.3% of AIA Group Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $54,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $82,314,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,908,382,000 after purchasing an additional 110,040 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,477,780.40. This represents a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 584,410 shares of company stock worth $386,031,454 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $576.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $655.23 and a 200-day moving average of $609.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.31.

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.