Voyager Global Management LP Invests $29.28 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Voyager Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 50,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,276,000. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of Voyager Global Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after buying an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total transaction of $24,195,307.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total transaction of $602,730.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,295 shares in the company, valued at $19,510,470. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 308,068 shares of company stock valued at $214,968,924 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $533.15 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $590.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $604.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $676.55.

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.