Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ Sells 1,900 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,300 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.8% of Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of META opened at $694.84 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $645.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $589.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total transaction of $13,830,734.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 810,217 shares of company stock valued at $523,808,864. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $717.90.

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.