Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,684 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 5,999 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $2.50 on Tuesday, hitting $556.90. The stock had a trading volume of 4,654,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,015,419. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The company's 50 day moving average price is $569.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $521.96.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.10.
Read Our Latest Research Report on META
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total transaction of $8,906,174.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,838 shares in the company, valued at $15,377,575.12. The trade was a 36.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total transaction of $221,747.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,744,534.08. The trade was a 2.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,593 shares of company stock worth $75,253,970 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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