Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 167,078 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 10,514 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.4% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $81,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 94.4% during the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 4,054 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $159,841,000 after acquiring an additional 32,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voyager Global Management LP increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $12.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $465.70. The stock had a trading volume of 14,222,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,931,730. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $493.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $542.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Citigroup cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 price target (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.87.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total value of $8,404,112.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 301,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,697,700.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 311,348 shares of company stock valued at $154,678,120 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.