Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,272,854 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 72,802 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.1% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,886,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $740.97, for a total value of $383,081.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,853 shares in the company, valued at $5,818,837.41. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $737.00, for a total value of $382,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,360,362. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,756 shares of company stock worth $104,720,878 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $718.35 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $747.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $662.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $631.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. Research 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 was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $719.29.

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.