Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $6.02 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,507 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.5% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $595,152,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,411,009 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,656,318,000 after acquiring an additional 788,131 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total transaction of $481,650.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,053,185.77. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total value of $481,650.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,053,185.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,118 shares of company stock worth $121,237,935. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $591.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $558.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

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.