Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $86.26 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,659 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 473 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems' investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $86,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $712.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $702.13, for a total value of $5,836,104.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,372 shares in the company, valued at $62,048,632.36. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,002 shares of company stock valued at $73,353,340. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $13.67 on Tuesday, reaching $712.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,806,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,499,652. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50 day moving average is $625.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $624.38.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

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.