American Trust trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,685 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 977 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 563 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 797 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Oakwell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Oakwell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 767 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TSA Wealth Managment LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 19.5% during the first quarter. TSA Wealth Managment LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame Meta as a major AI winner, with reports citing significant upside potential and strong hedge fund support. Muse Image: Can Meta Platforms Inc (META) Kill Two Birds With One Stone?
- Positive Sentiment: Meta is still drawing bullish attention for its heavy AI infrastructure spending, including plans for large-scale data center investment and in-house chip development, which investors view as evidence of an aggressive AI strategy. How Meta Platforms (META) Is Strengthening Its AI Infrastructure With Custom Chips and Massive Computing Expansion
- Positive Sentiment: Meta also received a fresh analyst update from Wedbush with a neutral rating and a $671 price target, implying modest upside from current levels. Benzinga coverage of Wedbush rating
- Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Meta’s AI chatbot safety changes and oversight-board findings adds to the company’s public-policy and product discussion, but these items are not clearly major financial catalysts. Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot Meta Oversight Board finds top AI models less likely to criticize repressive regimes
- Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing a lawsuit from former employees alleging AI-driven layoffs disproportionately affected workers on protected leave, which could create legal and reputational risk. Meta employees sue over alleged AI-driven layoffs targeting workers on leave
- Negative Sentiment: Some broader commentary points to insider selling and concerns about the size of Meta’s capital spending, which could weigh on sentiment if investors worry about returns on its AI investments. Meta Vs. Microsoft: Insider Selling Shows Meta’s 1.4 Trillion Existential Crisis Worse Than Microsoft’s Legal Woes Meta Is Betting $50 Billion on AI Data Centers. Where Does The Stock Go From Here?
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.5%
Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $664.54 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $602.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $626.87. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. 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 – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given 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 of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,241,859. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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.
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