Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 909,590 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 54,777 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.7% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $321,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 10.6 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $52.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $441.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 82,642,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,210,709. The company has a 50 day moving average of $495.93 and a 200-day moving average of $403.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $208.88 and a one year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,368,829 shares of company stock valued at $657,321,830. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.