Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,200 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 12,939 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $87,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,573,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $235,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,594 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5 %
Meta Platforms stock traded up $2.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $556.90. 4,654,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,015,419. The business's 50 day moving average is $569.10 and its 200 day moving average is $521.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a PEG 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.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total transaction of $8,876,444.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,050,140.64. The trade was a 59.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,593 shares of company stock worth $75,253,970. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
META has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $634.10.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Profile
(
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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