Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Capital Management Associates NY

Capital Management Associates NY lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.1% of Capital Management Associates NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Capital Management Associates NY’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GatePass Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 83.2% during the 4th quarter. GatePass Capital LLC now owns 925 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 9,438 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,230,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 109.4% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 165,384 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $109,168,000 after acquiring an additional 86,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MSH Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched an enterprise-focused AI “business agent” designed to help companies handle customer inquiries, recommend products, book appointments, and automate daily operations across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. Investors see this as a new subscription-like revenue opportunity beyond ads. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage from multiple outlets suggested Meta’s AI agent strategy could expand into the business market and help diversify revenue, reinforcing the bull case that the company can monetize AI more effectively. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Areté Research upgraded Meta Platforms (META) from hold to strong-buy and set a $735 target, adding to the favorable analyst tone around the stock. Finviz reference
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also won a partial legal victory in Europe after a court backed its challenge to the EU’s “gatekeeper” designation for Marketplace, which could reduce regulatory pressure on part of the business. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s metaverse unit saw another management change, with Metaverse Products Group lead Gabriel Aul quietly leaving and being replaced by Saxs Persson. This is more of an internal reshuffle than a clear stock catalyst. Business Insider article
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that a high-profile hack exposed weaknesses in Meta’s AI support chatbot, highlighting security risks as the company automates sensitive account functions. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: State attorneys general also urged a court to revive antitrust claims against Meta, keeping regulatory and legal overhangs in the background. MediaPost article

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $526,715.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,171,959.94. This trade represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 on 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 owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $622.98 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $618.18 and a 200-day moving average of $636.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. 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) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.