Keudell Morrison Wealth Management Makes New $2.07 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 3,142 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised 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 raised 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. raised 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. raised 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 raised 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $632.51 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $617.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $636.92.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $800.00 price target (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.19.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business ‘definitely on the table’
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta’s Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business ‘definitely on the table’
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total transaction of $509,716.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,823 shares in the company, valued at $8,417,930.54. This represents a 5.71% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,890 shares of company stock valued at $25,315,558. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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.