Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,449,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 407,412 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.9% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,929,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Gerber LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $1,310,000. True Vision MN LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $496,000. Slagle Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 96.5% in the 4th quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Twin Focus Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $286,000. Finally, CCM Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $16,131,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $0.56 on Friday, hitting $504.16. 10,243,347 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,607,878. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $480.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $442.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $271.42 and a 1-year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.41.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $2,386,617.30. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $7,272,152.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 437,528 shares of company stock worth $215,768,262 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.