Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys 35,107 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 351,428 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 35,107 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.7% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $207,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 500 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. RVW Wealth LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $913,000. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,076 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,656,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stordahl Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $428,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on META. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $710.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total transaction of $21,838,890.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This trade represents a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 673,878 shares of company stock worth $416,269,904. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.2 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $697.46 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $616.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $568.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

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.