Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,459,999 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 77,108 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.6% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.06% of Meta Platforms worth $835,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 221.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $345,340.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,992 shares in the company, valued at $11,135,544. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,958 shares of company stock worth $101,181,747. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.8 %

META stock traded up $4.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $565.54. 7,168,296 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,002,179. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $570.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $522.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

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.