Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 210,901 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 14,277 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.0% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $102,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total value of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares in the company, valued at $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 311,348 shares of company stock worth $154,678,120 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $12.29 on Friday, reaching $465.70. 14,210,133 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,196,824. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $493.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.80. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.38 and a 12 month high of $542.81. The company has a market cap of $1.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 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 issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.66.

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.