Blue Whale Capital LLP Grows Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Blue Whale Capital LLP grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 32.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,129 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 33,529 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 6.1% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $78,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 4,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.17, for a total transaction of $2,548,605.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 519,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,449,230. This represents a 0.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total transaction of $470,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,135,440. This represents a 2.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,656 shares of company stock worth $61,933,867. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $573.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $573.38 and a 200 day moving average of $525.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.71.

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.