Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,060 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.0% of Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 349,472 shares of company stock worth $182,544,600. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $563.33 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $510.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $498.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $573.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $660.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $578.92.

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.