GAMMA Investing LLC Has $23.45 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,691 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,829 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.8% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted 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 increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $19,949,512,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ META opened at $733.63 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $638.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $626.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total transaction of $342,322.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,676.90. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total transaction of $525,577.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,268,742.26. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 124,831 shares of company stock valued at $83,868,872 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on META shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $812.00 price target (up from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.52.

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.