Simplify Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 528 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,695,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,308 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $595,152,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $660.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total value of $221,747.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,744,534.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $561.35 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $507.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $497.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $564.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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