GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Purchases New Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 332,185 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,498,000. Meta Platforms makes up about 4.2% of GF Fund Management CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,157 shares of company stock valued at $49,411,000. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $627.06 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $574.80 and its 200-day moving average is $608.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $701.05.

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.