China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,116 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,431 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 3.4% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $567.58 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $296.86 and a one year high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $555.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $512.56.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total transaction of $524,990.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,482 shares in the company, valued at $18,262,708.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at $188,810,838.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total value of $524,990.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,482 shares in the company, valued at $18,262,708.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 251,573 shares of company stock worth $133,019,910 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.37.

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.