Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Makes New $14.08 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 29,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,082,000. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.6% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,054,513 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,469,906,000 after purchasing an additional 927,491 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $11,285,855,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,695,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $535,549.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,130,103.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 310,933 shares of company stock valued at $154,451,206. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $593.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wedbush reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.33.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ META traded up $1.90 on Tuesday, reaching $489.30. 1,681,608 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,130,590. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $493.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $473.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

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.