Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Raised by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,228 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.1% of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $108,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. 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. Maiden Cove Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $718.35 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $662.26 and its 200-day moving average is $631.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $747.90.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $719.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $737.00, for a total value of $382,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,360,362. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 152,756 shares of company stock valued at $104,720,878. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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