Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is American Century Companies Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,635,650 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 233,014 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.3% of American Century Companies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.22% of Meta Platforms worth $4,159,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 41.2% during the second quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 40,809 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $30,121,000 after acquiring an additional 11,913 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.5% in the second quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 10,024 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,399,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 349.4% during the 2nd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 59,577 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $43,973,000 after purchasing an additional 46,319 shares during the period. Aspiring Ventures LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Aspiring Ventures LLC now owns 730 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 83.4% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,028 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $823.93.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:META opened at $647.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.28. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $678.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $706.59.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.28%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total value of $6,935,793.90. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 40,923 shares of company stock valued at $26,007,416 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.