Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Cut by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 68.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 96,432 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 214,057 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $63,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $600.47 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $617.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $636.73.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its Outperform rating on Meta and set an $810 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Tickerreport.com
• Positive Sentiment: A new AI adoption study ranked Meta among the top S&P 500 companies for AI execution, reinforcing the view that its AI investments are becoming strategically important. CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Meta’s AI monetization and enterprise adoption could help offset concerns about rising spending. Yahoo Finance / Investing.com
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets highlighted Meta as a top AI and virtual reality stock, adding to the longer-term bullish narrative around its product pipeline and AI push. Motley Fool

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,417,930.54. This represents a 5.71% 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. Insiders sold a total of 40,890 shares of company stock valued at $25,315,558 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Profile

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.