Norinchukin Bank The Acquires 2,996 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Norinchukin Bank The boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 103,207 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,996 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.3% of Norinchukin Bank The’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $60,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $624.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $684.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total transaction of $39,897,337.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,422,186.45. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 379,901 shares of company stock worth $260,806,516. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $501.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $608.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $606.80. The company has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91.

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, topping 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 in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

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.