Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s 5th Largest Position

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,744 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 5,499 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $36,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 334.0% during the 1st quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 25,749 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $14,841,000 after purchasing an additional 19,816 shares during the period. Consolidated Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,824,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 142.6% during the 1st quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 883 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.0% during the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 7,373 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total value of $342,322.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,676.90. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,002 shares of company stock valued at $73,353,340 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $698.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $621.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $623.76. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Roth Capital raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $710.00.

About Meta Platforms

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.