Versant Capital Management Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,779 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after buying an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748,620 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 342,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $584.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $527.07 and a 200 day moving average of $502.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $643.00 to $811.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $601.08.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total value of $453,785.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,068,669.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total transaction of $8,916,696.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 151,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,104,462.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total value of $453,785.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,035 shares in the company, valued at $18,068,669.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 282,621 shares of company stock worth $148,657,449. Company 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.