Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,600 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.6% of NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $159,841,000 after purchasing an additional 32,423 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton grew its position in Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Signify Wealth bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $228,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 223,788 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $79,212,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $442.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,964,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,331,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $495.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $403.40. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $229.85 and a 52 week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,935 shares in the company, valued at $27,574,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

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.