Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 496.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,541 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,115 shares during the period. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
- Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
- Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use ‘Faceprint’ Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
- Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US ‘trade action’
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model
Meta Platforms Trading Down 5.5%
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.
View Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms
Insider Activity
In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,860 shares of company stock worth $26,555,260. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.
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.
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