Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Congress Asset Management Co. MA

Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 19,680.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 287,613 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 286,159 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $101,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,733,182 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $39,270,443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001,647 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,054,513 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,469,906,000 after purchasing an additional 927,491 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,890,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total transaction of $8,404,112.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,697,700.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total value of $8,404,112.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,697,700.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.50, for a total transaction of $285,772.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,614,740.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 437,528 shares of company stock valued at $215,768,262 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $504.16. 10,243,347 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,607,878. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $271.42 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $480.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $442.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on META shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 price target (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.41.

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.