Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. Makes New $26.16 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 45,704 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,163,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 4.9% of Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after buying an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $595,152,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 926.6% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $369,774,000 after buying an additional 661,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $285,690,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $574.32 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $313.66 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $575.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $527.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total value of $511,596.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,790 shares in the company, valued at $21,362,687. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 106,239 shares of company stock valued at $59,681,541 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.