Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s 8th Largest Position

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 521,043 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.6% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $298,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 541.8% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 3,819 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,823,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $4,355,000. American Trust lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. American Trust now owns 3,179 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $599,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. This trade represents a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at $11,018,473.83. This represents a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 106,239 shares of company stock valued at $59,681,541 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $569.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $313.66 and a one year high of $602.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $574.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $526.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.71.

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.