Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 926.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 661,923 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.1% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $369,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after buying an additional 4,440,229 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $595,152,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $406,316,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $576.47 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $583.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $519.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $500.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly 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 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 in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend 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 currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total transaction of $235,410.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,044,630. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.87, for a total value of $4,615,448.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 178,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,191,218.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total value of $235,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,044,630. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 308,462 shares of company stock valued at $162,308,065 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on META. TD Securities upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $597.95.

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.