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

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,800 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.1% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $105,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 118,279 shares in the company, valued at $82,928,955.27. This trade represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 153,764 shares of company stock worth $105,721,208. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $736.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:META traded up $2.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $704.28. The company had a trading volume of 12,743,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,336,421. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $686.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $638.34. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $747.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.