Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,820 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,669 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.8% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $100,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total transaction of $469,740.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,568,394.35. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 168,843 shares of company stock worth $92,083,554. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $559.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $572.74 and a 200-day moving average of $523.96. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $313.66 and a one year high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms 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.