Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 509,487 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,898 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.5% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $291,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently issued reports on META. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.45.
Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.5%
Meta Platforms stock opened at $664.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $602.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $626.87.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,503 shares of company stock worth $24,241,859. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Key Meta Platforms News
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?
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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