Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Buys 7,213 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 571.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,475 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,213 shares during the period. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 48.8% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,886,000 after purchasing an additional 16,138 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $119,989,000. TFB Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 97.1% in the 1st quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,635,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 9,161 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,448,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 8,975 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,358,000 after buying an additional 4,662 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,360,833.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,118 shares of company stock worth $121,237,935 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $589.34 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $560.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $515.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $313.66 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for 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, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

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.