Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Has $187.51 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 325,341 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.2% of Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $187,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $682.87 on Monday. 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 $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $604.07 and its 200 day moving average is $619.96. 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.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $704.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,462 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $1,025,052.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 139,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,834,277.94. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total value of $552,830.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,103 shares in the company, valued at $19,269,825.75. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,593 shares of company stock valued at $56,008,477 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.