Birinyi Associates Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 83.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 810 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,205 shares during the quarter. Birinyi Associates Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Shares of META stock opened at $584.59 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $620.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $636.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. 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 is currently 7.63%.
Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to be viewed as a major AI winner, with Truist calling out a potential next $20 billion business and analysts remaining bullish on the company’s long-term earnings power.
- Positive Sentiment: The company’s $115 million workforce academy and related data-center training initiatives reinforce its aggressive AI infrastructure buildout and commitment to scaling capacity.
- Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Best Buy partnership to showcase AI glasses and VR headsets could help drive consumer interest and future hardware adoption.
- Negative Sentiment: EU regulators ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots, adding antitrust pressure and potentially weakening Meta’s platform advantage.
- Negative Sentiment: A newly reported AI bug that enabled Instagram account takeovers raises fresh cybersecurity and trust concerns for the platform.
- Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta has delayed a key AI rollout are fueling concern that monetization of its AI investments may take longer than expected.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This 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. Insiders have sold 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
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.
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