Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 13,366 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 807,181 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 13,366 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.2% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $285,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of META stock traded up $1.91 on Friday, reaching $443.29. The company had a trading volume of 32,645,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,233,678. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.85 and a 12 month high of $531.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $494.48 and a 200-day moving average of $404.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,935 shares in the company, valued at $27,574,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.18.

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.