Forum Financial Management LP Has $12.95 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Forum Financial Management LP trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 41.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,629 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 16,044 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,481,290.47. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $582.88 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $602.79 and a 200-day moving average of $628.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.64.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is being viewed more favorably by some analysts because its AI-powered ads are reportedly improving advertiser returns, which supports revenue growth and suggests its AI spending is starting to pay off. Meta’s Capex Is Paying Off, But The Market Doesn’t Care
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta may rent out excess GPU capacity and build a cloud-computing business are boosting sentiment, since investors see a potential new monetization avenue beyond digital advertising. Meta’s push into cloud computing means Wall Street has to prepare for lower margins
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s broader AI strategy is also getting support from bullish coverage that argues the company is chasing a huge enterprise AI-compute opportunity and could eventually re-rate higher if execution improves. Senior Analyst: Meta Is Chasing A $2 Trillion AI Compute Opportunity, But It’s Years Behind
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta remains a highly followed stock, with traders and analysts continuing to debate whether its AI investment cycle will translate into sustainable earnings growth or just higher spending. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Zuckerberg also acknowledged that Meta’s AI agents are progressing slower than expected, which reinforces investor concerns that some of the company’s ambitious AI initiatives may take longer to monetize. Zuckerberg says AI agent development going slower than expected
• Negative Sentiment: India reportedly asked Meta to delay its WhatsApp username rollout over fraud concerns, creating a potential regulatory hurdle for one of Meta’s most important messaging growth initiatives. India asks Meta to hold WhatsApp username rollout over fraud fears

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.