Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,780,270 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,799 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.3% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,308,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apollon Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.1% during the third quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 22,196 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,624 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the period. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,352,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 13.3% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,876 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,371,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $554.08 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $313.66 and a 12 month high of $602.95. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $568.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $519.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Loop Capital upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 158,200 shares of company stock valued at $84,533,106. 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.