Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $6.53 Billion Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,842,949 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 112,154 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.6% of Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,527,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $644.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $665.92 and its 200 day moving average is $706.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $870.00 price target (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,306. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,959 shares of company stock worth $26,578,191. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms 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.