Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report)’s share price shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $580.22 and last traded at $577.22. Approximately 27,378,969 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 68% from the average session volume of 16,341,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $567.58.
Meta Platforms News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Threads platform has reached 500 million monthly active users, and the company is rolling out new community and feed-control features that could support engagement and future monetization across its app ecosystem. Meta (META) Reaches 500 Million Threads Users As New Community Features Roll Out
- Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to get support from bullish commentary on its AI strategy, with some analysts arguing the company’s AI investments could unlock new ad and product opportunities despite heavy spending. BofA Reiterates Buy Rating on Meta Platforms (META) Cites AI Strategy a Key Growth Catalyst
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s upcoming quarterly dividend is a small shareholder-friendly tailwind, but it is unlikely to be a major near-term stock driver. Meta to pay dividends next week; Here’s how much 100 META shares will earn
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta is also getting attention for broad valuation comparisons versus Alphabet and other mega-cap AI names, reinforcing the debate over whether its current spending can justify further upside. Alphabet vs. Meta: One AI Advertising Giant Has 40% More Upside
- Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that a Meta executive overseeing its “AI for work” transformation is leaving the company, adding to concerns about leadership stability during a major AI restructuring. Exclusive: Meta head of product for ‘AI for work’ transformation is leaving company
- Negative Sentiment: Meta also faced a security-related AI headline after reports said attackers exploited its AI customer-support chatbot to compromise Instagram accounts, which could raise trust and product-safety concerns. Meta (META) Faces AI Support Breach As Key Internal AI Executive Exits
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by COO Javier Olivan is also a modest sentiment headwind, even though the trades were made under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells $754,800.00 in Stock
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
META has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. 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 note on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7%
The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $621.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $635.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share 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. 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold a total of 40,568 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,365 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third 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. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
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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