Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.9% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.7 %

META opened at $647.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $601.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $560.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.66 and a 12 month high of $652.00.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $654.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This represents a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total transaction of $524,990.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,262,708.20. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 568,016 shares of company stock valued at $346,031,180 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.