Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $48.61 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,386 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,587 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.0% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $48,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Credit Suisse AG acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $481,262,000. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.7% during the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,287 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 139.0% during the first quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Audent Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $392,000. 62.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.55, for a total transaction of $196,008.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,611,309.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.55, for a total value of $196,008.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,611,309.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.00, for a total value of $1,253,161.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,277,394. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,179 shares of company stock valued at $12,474,820. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Meta Platforms from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $313.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $285.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, August 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, forty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.79.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.7 %

META stock opened at $300.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company has a market capitalization of $772.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.09 and a fifty-two week high of $326.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $302.23 and a 200-day moving average of $259.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The social networking company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.91 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 18.70%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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.