Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 863,614 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 40,100 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.3% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $419,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.51, for a total value of $253,089.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,167,719.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.51, for a total value of $253,089.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,167,719.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $2,386,617.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,272,152.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 218,086 shares of company stock valued at $106,423,370 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Wedbush cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.27.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of META opened at $509.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $480.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $458.05.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.