UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Acquires 70,584 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 31.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 293,663 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,584 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.4% of UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $142,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. S.A. Mason LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LongView Wealth Management boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 target price (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $521.48.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total value of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 310,933 shares of company stock valued at $154,451,206 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $27.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $461.27. 17,631,002 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,196,164. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.38 and a 12 month high of $542.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $494.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $474.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.