Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,978 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 844 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.0% of Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $33,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,537,107 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $775,039,000 after purchasing an additional 39,663 shares in the last quarter. Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 233.8% during the 2nd quarter. Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. now owns 53,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,152,000 after acquiring an additional 37,718 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 265,756 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $133,999,000 after acquiring an additional 14,831 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 165,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $83,250,000 after acquiring an additional 18,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 68.5% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 99,633 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $50,237,000 after acquiring an additional 40,504 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 230,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,737,915.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 230,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,737,915.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 346,666 shares of company stock valued at $180,145,414 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $561.35 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $507.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $497.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $564.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio 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.