Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 980,982 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 48,947 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.0% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $574,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $755,000. Wick Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Wick Capital Partners LLC now owns 708 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,041,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2%

META stock opened at $636.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $573.91 and a 200-day moving average of $608.53.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $701.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $686.28, for a total value of $417,258.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,361,815.60. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,157 shares of company stock worth $49,411,000. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.