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

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 64,684 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,999 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 221.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total value of $8,876,444.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 11,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,050,140.64. This represents a 59.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 140,593 shares of company stock worth $75,253,970. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $554.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $569.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $521.96.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

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.