State of Alaska Department of Revenue Buys 8,080 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,315 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,080 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.1% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $181,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after buying an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total value of $373,901.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,205,164.86. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.13, for a total transaction of $5,836,104.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,048,632.36. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,512 shares of company stock valued at $73,590,232 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $710.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $695.77 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $615.32 and its 200 day moving average is $622.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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