Natixis Acquires 254,166 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Natixis raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 126.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 455,820 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 254,166 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of Natixis’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Natixis’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $221,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $462.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $493.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.80. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $542.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.66.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $2,386,617.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,272,152.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 311,348 shares of company stock worth $154,678,120 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.