J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 1,657 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,341 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,657 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.6% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Prudential PLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 201,867 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $133,250,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 33,309 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $21,987,000 after acquiring an additional 2,159 shares during the period. Convergence Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 7,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,808,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 112.2% in the fourth quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 3,399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish commentators reiterated that Meta may be building a large new subscription opportunity and that the stock still screens as attractive versus its growth potential. Truist says Meta has found its next $20 billion business, stock set to gain more than 40%
• Positive Sentiment: Meta announced a major AI data center lease in India with Reliance Industries, signaling continued infrastructure investment to support its long-term AI strategy and global scale. EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
• Positive Sentiment: Several research pieces highlighted Meta as a long-term AI and advertising winner, arguing that the market may be discounting the value of its AI investments too harshly. Meta: The Market’s Perception On AI CapEx Seems Misplaced
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta drew additional attention after being named in “best stocks to buy” and “forever stock” lists, which may support sentiment but is not a company-specific catalyst by itself. 5 Best Forever Stocks to Buy According to Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots during an antitrust probe, adding another regulatory overhang to the company’s AI and messaging strategy. EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of an AI-related Instagram security bug and a landmark youth social-media addiction case increase legal, reputational, and platform-risk concerns. Meta A.I. Bug Allowed Hackers to Take Over Instagram Accounts

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Bank of America cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush upgraded Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% 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 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $570.98 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $621.46 and a 200-day moving average of $636.55.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Meta Platforms Company 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.