Intact Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,477,463 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $877,798,000 after buying an additional 9,475 shares in the last quarter. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,655,000. White Pine Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Parametrica Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Parametrica Management Ltd now owns 34,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,355,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.18, for a total transaction of $245,578.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,552,865.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $1.91 on Friday, reaching $443.29. 32,645,619 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,233,678. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $494.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $404.85. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.85 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.18.

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.