Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Makes New $4.15 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 8,538 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,146,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.0% of Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in 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 valued at $13,469,906,000 after acquiring an additional 927,491 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,890,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,978 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in 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 valued at $12,296,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,719 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,285,855,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 price target (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.27.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $509.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.38 and a 1-year high of $531.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $481.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $458.42.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.51, for a total transaction of $253,089.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,167,719.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 252,395 shares of company stock valued at $123,781,816. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.