Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 1,307,803 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 60.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 840,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,307,803 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $480,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% during the first quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 18,524 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 19.5% during the first quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $114,666,000. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,837 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

META stock opened at $573.25 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $551.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $510.72. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 10.21%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $621.63.

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.