Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by State of Wyoming

State of Wyoming grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 105.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,375 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 5,840 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.8% of State of Wyoming’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. State of Wyoming’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebrook Private Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 5,279 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,091,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 21,263 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,450,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 5,426 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,177,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $1,218,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $701.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 three months, insiders have sold 62,852 shares of company stock valued at $41,665,958. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $640.34 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $571.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $606.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Company 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.