Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,482,627 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,238 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.6% of Swedbank AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Swedbank AB owned 0.14% of Meta Platforms worth $2,557,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 15,028 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,662,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at $5,962,956.64. This trade represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 42,074 shares of company stock valued at $26,359,548 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of META stock opened at $663.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $654.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $706.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Benchmark downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $825.00 price objective (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $820.22.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.