Clark Asset Management LLC Buys 1,446 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Clark Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 23.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,588 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,446 shares during the period. Clark Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is getting recognition from some investors as a long-term AI winner, with articles highlighting it as a top AI stock in billionaire David Tepper’s portfolio and a high-conviction hedge fund holding.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new $299 AI smart glasses broaden its wearable lineup and could help expand consumer adoption beyond higher-priced models. Reuters: Meta announces new range of smart glasses starting at $299
• Positive Sentiment: Facebook is rolling out an AI companion app for creators, which may improve engagement and give Meta another tool to support monetization across its platforms.
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm said Meta will be the first major customer for its new data-center CPU, signaling that Meta is continuing to invest heavily in next-generation AI infrastructure. CNBC: Qualcomm announces AI data center CPU, signs Meta as first major customer
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is giving some engineers a way to leave its AI training unit after a recent reorganization, which may help morale but does not directly change the company’s financial outlook. Business Insider: Meta forced thousands of engineers into AI training work. Now it’s giving some a way out.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Meta is building an experimental prediction markets app could open a new consumer product category, but the revenue impact remains uncertain and the project is still early. Reuters: Mark Zuckerberg directed Meta to create a prediction markets app, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: European regulators are escalating an investigation into whether Facebook and Instagram use addictive design features for children, increasing the risk of fines or product changes. Reuters: EU to ramp up Meta probe into addictive design, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. government is also pressuring Meta to submit AI models for security reviews, adding another layer of regulatory uncertainty around the company’s AI strategy. Reuters: US presses Meta to agree to AI reviews as security concerns rise

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 3,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. The trade was a 11.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $557.83 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $617.09 and a 200 day moving average of $632.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

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.