South Dakota Investment Council Sells 12,708 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,428 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 12,708 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.0% of South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $46,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total transaction of $7,722,037.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total value of $7,722,037.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,391,935 shares of company stock valued at $666,288,408. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $14.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $496.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,985,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,131,002. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $495.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $402.50. 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 12-month low of $207.13 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $520.28.

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.