Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,754,450 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 208,677 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.0% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.31% of Meta Platforms worth $3,911,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in 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. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total value of $221,747.96. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,534.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 357,575 shares of company stock worth $185,595,945 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $537.95 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $544.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $505.40 and a 200-day moving average of $496.34.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.