Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,580 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 4,489 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.6% of Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Verum Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 611 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Stage Harbor Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stage Harbor Financial LLC now owns 998 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.6% during the third quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 10,940 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,454,000 after buying an additional 1,478 shares in the last quarter. Safeguard Financial LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 51.9% in the third quarter. Safeguard Financial LLC now owns 673 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.2% in the third quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $576.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $544.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $507.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during 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 was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,054,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 249,911 shares of company stock valued at $131,887,905. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective for the company. TD Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $613.71.

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.