Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Increased by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,954,831 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 275,874 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.0% of CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.08% of Meta Platforms worth $1,144,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.45, for a total value of $338,321.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,790,040.30. The trade was a 10.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.85, for a total transaction of $22,050,105.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 414,901 shares of company stock worth $282,367,368. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $686.83.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of META opened at $502.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $616.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $607.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

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.