Kennedy Investment Group Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Kennedy Investment Group grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 56.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,734 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.7% of Kennedy Investment Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Kennedy Investment Group’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business ‘definitely on the table’
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta’s Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business ‘definitely on the table’
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4%

META stock opened at $632.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $617.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $636.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total transaction of $509,716.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,823 shares in the company, valued at $8,417,930.54. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 42,445 shares of company stock worth $26,306,420 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.