Centre Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Centre Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 29.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,173 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.7% of Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $5,424,543,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $4,223,148,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $4,220,171,000. Morgan Stanley purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $4,072,543,000. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $1,796,633,000. 62.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $335.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $305.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $350.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $350.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, forty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.79.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $311.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $802.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.09 and a twelve month high of $326.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $302.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The social networking company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.36. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.91 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.19, for a total transaction of $3,258,780.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 91,617 shares in the company, valued at $28,052,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.73, for a total transaction of $201,243.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,811,296. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.19, for a total transaction of $3,258,780.17. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 91,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,052,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,179 shares of company stock worth $12,474,820. Company insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

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.