Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Lowered by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 186,202 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 40,822 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.4% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $93,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vantage Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 3,888,308 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Finally, Rollins Financial increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 30,657 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,851,000 after buying an additional 2,133 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total transaction of $8,406,784.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 275,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,567,991.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 373,783 shares of company stock valued at $193,743,522 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on META shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $504.79 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $544.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $505.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $494.74.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.