Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Aviva PLC’s 6th Largest Position

Aviva PLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,305,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 12,094 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.0% of Aviva PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $764,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,251,766 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,344,552,000 after purchasing an additional 424,201 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Meta Platforms by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,211,967,000 after buying an additional 1,892,509 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of META stock opened at $504.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $648.15 and a 200 day moving average of $609.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Arete Research raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % 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, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total transaction of $571,552.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,010 shares in the company, valued at $20,215,915.50. The trade was a 2.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 549,113 shares of company stock worth $364,668,246. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.