Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $419.15 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 732,219 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,139 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.0% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $419,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after buying an additional 4,126,190 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $595,152,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $285,690,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 56,892.0% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 564,221 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,845,000 after acquiring an additional 563,231 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 4,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.17, for a total transaction of $2,548,605.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 519,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $269,449,230. This trade represents a 0.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. This trade represents a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 111,561 shares of company stock worth $62,445,464. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $569.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $574.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $526.03. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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 company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.71.

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.