MSH Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

MSH Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 65.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,291 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. MSH Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $622.98 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $618.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $636.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Benchmark started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Susquehanna raised Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. 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 valued at $26,555,260 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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.