Saudi Central Bank Takes $118.53 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 334,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,531,000. Meta Platforms makes up about 14.4% of Saudi Central Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,055 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,683,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 4,174 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 105,373 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $37,298,000 after acquiring an additional 6,328 shares in the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,361 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 94,543 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,734 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $4.21 on Tuesday, hitting $464.63. 11,732,473 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,666,227. The company’s fifty day moving average is $485.96 and its 200 day moving average is $422.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $244.95 and a 1-year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total transaction of $239,134.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,015,070.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $268,606.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,819,124.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total transaction of $239,134.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,014,637 shares of company stock worth $499,004,990 over the last 90 days. 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.