Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,599,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93,026 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.3% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,262,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Engrave Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,939,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,756 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 260,293 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $92,133,000 after acquiring an additional 34,131 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.0 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $9.44 during trading on Thursday, hitting $451.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,727,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,101,643. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $493.72 and its 200 day moving average is $473.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.38 and a 1-year high of $542.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total value of $194,752.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $2,386,617.30. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $7,272,152.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 310,933 shares of company stock valued at $154,451,206 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. TD Securities increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $521.48.

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.