Fisher Asset Management LLC Purchases 289,207 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,565,134 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 289,207 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.5% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,758,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 767,493 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $439,343,000 after buying an additional 83,423 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,419 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.8% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 21,999 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,593,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 559 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Draper Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,665,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $573.54 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $313.66 and a 12 month high of $602.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $573.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $525.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,018,473.83. This represents a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,656 shares of company stock valued at $61,933,867. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.