Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,780 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 18,450 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.9% of Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $484.66 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $603.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $606.43.

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 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 last year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Pivotal Research increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $681.67.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.22, for a total value of $489,253.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,096,741.18. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 378,583 shares of company stock worth $259,991,992. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.