Versor Investments LP Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Calton & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 86.5% during the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 4,274 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares in the last quarter. American Planning Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Iams Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 874 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Sonata Capital Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Sonata Capital Group Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $476.20 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.45 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $488.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $414.48.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $268,606.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,819,124.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.54, for a total transaction of $216,354.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,599 shares in the company, valued at $2,913,722.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $268,606.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,819,124.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,126,899 shares of company stock worth $552,059,793 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 price objective (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.80.

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.