Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,003 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,163 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.0% of Securian Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $66,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on META. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $812.00 price objective (up from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Roth Capital lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $736.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $701.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $747.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $683.85 and a 200-day moving average of $637.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $375,278.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,225,251.04. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.50, for a total transaction of $370,947.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,892,632.50. The trade was a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 153,764 shares of company stock worth $105,721,208. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.