Allianz SE Purchases Shares of 100,232 Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Allianz SE acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 100,232 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,219,000. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.5% of Allianz SE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $576.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $655.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $608.48.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total transaction of $535,542.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,477,780.40. This trade represents a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 584,823 shares of company stock valued at $386,274,777. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms 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.