Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,603 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,472 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.4% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after buying an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after buying an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $11,285,855,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,206,674. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,206,674. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total value of $8,916,696.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,104,462.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 311,348 shares of company stock worth $154,678,120 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.7 %

Meta Platforms stock traded up $12.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $465.70. 14,222,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,931,730. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $493.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $475.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Meta Platforms 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.