Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Purchases 19,082 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 323.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,982 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 19,082 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.5% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after acquiring an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,582,876,000 after purchasing an additional 342,742 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,754,450 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,911,029,000 after buying an additional 208,677 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $561.09 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $313.66 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $570.23 and its 200-day moving average is $522.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. Guggenheim upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. This represents a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total value of $8,876,444.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,384 shares in the company, valued at $6,050,140.64. This represents a 59.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,958 shares of company stock worth $101,181,747. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.