33,000 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Purchased by Skye Global Management LP

Skye Global Management LP purchased a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 33,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,891,000. Meta Platforms makes up 0.5% of Skye Global Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $595,152,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $369,774,000 after purchasing an additional 661,923 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $285,690,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,722 shares in the company, valued at $20,135,440. This trade represents a 2.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at $188,810,838.24. This represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 106,239 shares of company stock valued at $59,681,541. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $574.32 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $575.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $527.37.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.