Pegasus Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,313 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.3% of Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,852.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 418,680 shares of company stock worth $211,992,147. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:META traded down $6.88 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $521.12. The stock had a trading volume of 9,573,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,181,000. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $502.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $491.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $544.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $574.41.

Meta Platforms Company 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.