Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Raised by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 484,858 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 69,802 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.5% of Intech Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $171,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 183,244,796 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,011,920,000 after buying an additional 1,733,182 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $39,270,443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001,647 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,890,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,978 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,285,855,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,003,927 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,906,009,000 after purchasing an additional 946,871 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total transaction of $280,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,115,840. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total value of $280,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,115,840. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,135 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $535,549.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,130,103.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 886,466 shares of company stock worth $438,582,433. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 target price (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.80.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $12.44 on Friday, hitting $478.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,024,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,801,451. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $484.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $426.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.17 and a 1 year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.