Ardsley Advisory Partners LP Purchases Shares of 2,000 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auxier Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Auxier Asset Management LLC now owns 15,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,161,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6,969.4% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,545 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,680,000 after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Alight Capital Management LP increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 166.7% during the fourth quarter. Alight Capital Management LP now owns 40,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,404,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Align Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $483,773,000. Finally, 14B Captial Management LP bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $6,205,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,568 shares of company stock worth $25,057,365. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta said Threads has reached 500 million monthly active users, while new community features and feed controls could improve engagement and strengthen the long-term value of its social platform. Reuters: Meta’s Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Positive Sentiment: Meta rolled out AI search and creative tools across Facebook, which analysts say could open a new monetization opportunity and support future ad growth. Proactive Investors: Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy view on Meta, citing AI strategy as a key growth catalyst, which may help support investor confidence in the company’s long-term earnings potential. Insider Monkey: BofA reiterates Buy rating on Meta Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to pay its next quarterly dividend next week, a routine shareholder return that is supportive but unlikely to be a major near-term stock driver. Finbold: Meta to pay dividends next week
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that a Meta executive overseeing part of the company’s AI-for-work restructuring is leaving, adding to concerns about execution during a major AI transition. Reuters: Meta head of product for ‘AI for work’ transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Two SEC filings showed COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, which can still weigh on sentiment even though the sales were scheduled. SEC filing for Javier Olivan transaction
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary has also focused on Meta’s heavy AI spending, Reality Labs losses, and valuation concerns, reinforcing fears that profit growth could slow if investment remains elevated. Zacks: Meta Platforms is Overvalued at 5.5X PS

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.4%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $567.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $621.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $635.05. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.