New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Sells 2,300 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,850 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.1% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $58,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $0.38 on Thursday, reaching $703.29. 3,836,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,390,537. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $681.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $636.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $747.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,780 shares of company stock worth $105,009,697 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $808.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $828.00 price objective (up previously from $807.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $736.05.

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.