713,848 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Bought by Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 713,848 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,965,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 4.9% of Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $642.32 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $576.79 and its 200 day moving average is $609.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $701.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total transaction of $13,554,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 308,686 shares in the company, valued at $209,199,589.06. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,628 shares of company stock valued at $48,380,586 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.