NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Has $24.40 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,390 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.8% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $11,285,855,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Loop Capital upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $572.51.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 315,770 shares of company stock worth $157,719,910. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded up $1.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $530.28. 3,848,759 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,343,741. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $542.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $498.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $485.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.