GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 23,417,803 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 67,172.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.4% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.93% of Meta Platforms worth $13,517,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. TD Securities cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $740.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2%

META opened at $645.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $578.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $610.43. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $3,334,383.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 16,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,855,043.68. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,664 shares of company stock worth $35,484,670 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.