Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 922,166 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 370,081 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $677,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $664.45 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $660.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $707.10. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The firm’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $819.46.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 42,074 shares of company stock valued at $26,478,698 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.