Security Financial Services INC. Cuts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Security Financial Services INC. decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 23.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 627 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 194 shares during the quarter. Security Financial Services INC.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $11,285,855,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440,229 shares during the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $531.93 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $276.03 and a fifty-two week high of $544.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $502.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $490.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total value of $431,404.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,355.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the 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 $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 418,680 shares of company stock valued at $211,992,147. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $574.41.

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.