Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,700 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.8% of NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $54,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $609.46 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $713.72 and a 200-day moving average of $705.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $726.25, for a total value of $376,923.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,908 shares in the company, valued at $23,173,185. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 44,421 shares of company stock valued at $33,573,980 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $825.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $870.00 price objective (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $827.60.

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.