Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167,897 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 27,718 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.4% of Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $98,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Moffett Nathanson boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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. Wedbush lifted 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, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $696.45.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.52, for a total value of $545,710.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,201,693.12. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,689 shares of company stock worth $109,097,842 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9 %

META stock opened at $592.49 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. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $568.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $604.22.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

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.