Cigna Investments Inc. New Sells 553 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Cigna Investments Inc. New decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,890 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 553 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.1% of Cigna Investments Inc. New’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ META traded up $10.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $537.33. The stock had a trading volume of 13,462,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,375,996. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $498.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $485.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.38 and a twelve month high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total value of $8,827,174.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,302,705.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 349,174 shares of company stock valued at $175,146,777 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. 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. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $572.51.

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.