Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Increased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 62.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 696,047 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 266,260 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.2% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $398,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. WMS Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $876,000. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,513 shares of company stock worth $24,419,874. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Image, a new AI image-generation tool inside Meta AI for consumers and businesses. The rollout could help increase engagement across Instagram, WhatsApp and other apps, while giving advertisers and creators a new reason to use Meta’s ecosystem. Meta expands generative AI tools with Muse Image rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta from hold to buy, adding to bullish sentiment around the stock. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Raised to “Buy” at Erste Group Bank
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Securities also reiterated a Buy view and an $840 price target, reinforcing the case that Wall Street still sees meaningful upside in META.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $615.58 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $600.41 and its 200 day moving average is $627.42.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on META. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna upgraded Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.64.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.