Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Boosted by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,910,940 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 198,935 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.2% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,093,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 221.9% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $574.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $575.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $527.37.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $215,586.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 13,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,098,156. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total value of $470,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,135,440. This represents a 2.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 106,239 shares of company stock worth $59,681,541. Corporate 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.