Severin Investments LLC lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 34.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,694 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 905 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.0% of Severin Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Severin Investments LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the third quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,998 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% 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 have sold 42,860 shares of company stock worth $26,555,260 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.5%
Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $593.00 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $618.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $636.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.
Meta Platforms News Summary
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
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.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms
- AI Server Earnings: Wall Street Sees One Clear Standout
- Navitas: NVIDIA’s AI Power Broker?
- A Lulu of a Miss Sends Lululemon to New Lows—Look Out Below
- NVIDIA’s New Power Play: Why Fluence Is Surging
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Meta Platforms Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Meta Platforms and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
