67,758 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Acquired by Fernbridge Capital Management LP

Fernbridge Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 67,758 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,787,000. Meta Platforms makes up 2.4% of Fernbridge Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $569.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $574.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $526.03.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total value of $511,596.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,790 shares in the company, valued at $21,362,687. This represents a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,561 shares of company stock valued at $62,445,464. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.