Norinchukin Bank The Purchases 2,996 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,207 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.3% of Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $60,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,928,185,000 after buying an additional 204,412 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 3,219 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 2,853 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Meta Platforms by 9.5% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,048 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ META opened at $501.48 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $608.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $606.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly 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 firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 379,901 shares of company stock valued at $260,806,516. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $684.10.

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.