Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Boosted by Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 405,389 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 8,078 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.6% of Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $237,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,663,794 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $974,168,000 after buying an additional 82,981 shares during the period. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 770 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $268,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $560,000. Finally, 1ST Source Bank lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 5,341 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.00, for a total value of $243,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,927 shares in the company, valued at $10,576,930. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 622,844 shares of company stock valued at $409,212,161. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $586.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $655.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $604.56.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.78%.

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.