SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Purchases Shares of 10,080 Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,083,000. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.8% of SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the 4th 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. Voyager Global Management LP grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ERn Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $572.44 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $577.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $517.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $500.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,559 shares in the company, valued at $2,573,817. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 324,751 shares of company stock worth $170,575,643 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.