Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,269 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.4% of Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 196,081 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $129,431,000 after purchasing an additional 10,161 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. Expressive Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $1,305,000. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 43,253 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,551,000 after purchasing an additional 22,300 shares during the period. Finally, TrustBank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $901,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.5%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $593.00 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. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $618.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $636.57.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use ‘Faceprint’ Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US ‘trade action’
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush raised Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on Meta Platforms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. The trade was a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 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 $526,715.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,171,959.94. The trade was a 6.06% 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. Insiders sold 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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.