Oak Ridge Investments LLC Has $35.99 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,368 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,153 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.4% of Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after buying an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after acquiring an additional 244,803 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,719 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $11,285,855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares in the company, valued at $38,302,705.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total value of $503,908.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,954,472. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 72,473 shares in the company, valued at $38,302,705.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 349,174 shares of company stock worth $175,146,777. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $10.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $536.78. 8,247,194 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,342,830. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $542.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $498.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $485.97. The company has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $572.51.

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.