Naples Global Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,593 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,634 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $11,285,855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $9.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $527.42. 14,715,158 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,365,660. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $542.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $500.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $487.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $574.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,091.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total transaction of $8,916,696.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,918 shares in the company, valued at $81,104,462.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 349,174 shares of company stock worth $175,146,777 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.