Associated Banc Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp has reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 2.0%, now holding 76,217 shares valued at approximately $43.93 million.
• Meta reported a quarterly EPS of $7.14, surpassing analyst expectations of $5.75, with revenue hitting $47.52 billion, a 21.6% year-over-year increase.
• The average price target for Meta Platforms among analysts is $822.41, with a majority rating it as a "Moderate Buy."

Associated Banc Corp lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,217 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,523 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.3% of Associated Banc Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $43,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $769.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $784.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $714.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $651.01.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Moffett Nathanson raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 275,024 shares of company stock valued at $199,983,159. 13.61% of the stock is 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.

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