Natixis Buys 254,166 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Natixis grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 126.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 455,820 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 254,166 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.2% of Natixis’ holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Natixis’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $221,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 94.4% in the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $159,841,000 after purchasing an additional 32,423 shares during the period. Finally, Voyager Global Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $462.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $493.33 and its 200-day moving average is $473.80. 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 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $593.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.66.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.93, for a total transaction of $218,505.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,724,186.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 311,348 shares of company stock worth $154,678,120 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.