Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 3,467 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,129 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,467 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.6% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on META. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,258,362.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at $19,258,362.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 9,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.87, for a total value of $4,908,011.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 247,915 shares in the company, valued at $124,669,016.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $561.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $506.33 and a 200-day moving average of $496.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $564.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.