Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.1%, acquiring an additional 5,584 shares, bringing its total holdings to 55,726 shares valued at approximately $32.1 million.
• Numerous analysts have revised target prices for Meta Platforms, with projections ranging from $600 to $900, indicating a strong interest and a overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Insider trading activity included CFO Susan J. Li and CEO Mark Zuckerberg selling a combined total of 20,667 shares, representing significant decreases in their respective shareholdings.

Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,726 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 5,584 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.1% of Vestcor Inc's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $129,666,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $2,243,603,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company'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 directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 167,298 shares of company stock valued at $116,742,790. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Roth Capital lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $828.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $820.32.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $8.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $768.07. 3,441,751 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,569,142. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $478.65 and a 1-year high of $784.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50-day moving average price is $704.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $647.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

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.