Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. Has $2.90 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,039 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 4.3% of Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in 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 worth $24,777,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in 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 worth $23,606,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,355 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,007,308 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,030,399,000 after purchasing an additional 280,357 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 11.3%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $773.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $450.80 and a 12-month high of $784.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $699.22 and its 200 day moving average is $644.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $9,670,686.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 118,279 shares in the company, valued at $82,928,955.27. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock worth $105,708,832 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Roth Capital increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $811.31.

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.