State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $446.57 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,261,628 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,286 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.5% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $446,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bluesphere Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.2% in the third quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 917 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 61,580 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,487,000 after purchasing an additional 4,590 shares during the period. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,737 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Essex LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Essex LLC now owns 5,375 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,044 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,415,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $443.29. 32,645,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,391,986. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $495.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $403.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.18.

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.