Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ Decreases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.2% of Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $159,841,000 after purchasing an additional 32,423 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Signify Wealth purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $228,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 223,788 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $79,212,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,574,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on META. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $443.29. The company had a trading volume of 32,645,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,391,986. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $229.85 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $495.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $403.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.