State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Purchases 868 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 806,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.9% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $461,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,886,000 after acquiring an additional 16,138 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 22.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 67,195 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $32,629,000 after purchasing an additional 12,301 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 541.8% during the first quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 3,819 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 381,805 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 19,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 5,418 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total value of $8,836,861.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,110,002.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total value of $8,836,861.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,110,002.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 175,807 shares of company stock worth $93,851,617. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $580.00 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $564.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $518.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.29 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

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.