Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,700 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,500 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.4% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $129,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $578.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $296.86 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $552.03 and its 200-day moving average is $511.04.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total transaction of $214,849.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,684,057.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $643.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $621.63.

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.