Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Lifted by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,151 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 7,817 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.7% of Stephens Inc. AR’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $58,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Bayban increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were 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 directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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 44,748 shares of company stock worth $27,565,292. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 6.0%

META stock opened at $669.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $598.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $627.10.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were 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 of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $838.26.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s latest AI push is drawing bullish attention, including the launch of Muse Spark 1.1, expanded developer access through its Model API, and reports that the company plans to start producing an in-house AI chip in September. Investors are betting these moves could lower compute costs, reduce reliance on Nvidia and AMD, and open new revenue streams beyond advertising. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also benefiting from optimism around its cloud and AI infrastructure ambitions, including a new C$13 billion data center in Alberta and commentary that the company may be building a stronger long-term “AI revenue stack” than the market currently prices in. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators are still constructive on META, with bullish notes saying the stock looks attractively valued relative to its AI growth potential and that recent weakness created an opportunity for long-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP trimmed its price target to $800 from $825 while maintaining an outperform rating, suggesting continued upside but a slightly more cautious near-term view on valuation and spending. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces renewed regulatory risk after the European Union said Facebook and Instagram may violate the Digital Services Act with “addictive” design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications, potentially exposing the company to fines and product changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reporting also highlighted investor concern that Meta’s aggressive AI capex could pressure margins if monetization takes longer than expected, even though the market is currently rewarding the strategy. Article Title

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.