Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 7,996 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,929 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 7,996 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.7% of Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $51,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $1,963,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,083,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 35.4% in the second quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,378 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,241,000 after buying an additional 3,239 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the second quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,277,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 1,077 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Pivotal Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $597.95.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $572.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $517.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $500.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $577.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total value of $5,699,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,314,333.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $231,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,152,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 324,751 shares of company stock valued at $170,575,643 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.