Prudential PLC Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 195,382 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,625 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.7% of Prudential PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $98,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 357,574 shares of company stock worth $185,587,773 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on META shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $525.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $544.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $505.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.07. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.