Sands Capital Management LLC Sells 133,193 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Sands Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,254,871 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 133,193 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.5% of Sands Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Sands Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $828,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on META. Mizuho decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,170 shares of company stock worth $24,218,565. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $593.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $621.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $635.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched new Facebook AI Mode features that pull answers from public information across its apps, including Groups and Reels, which analysts say could create a major new revenue stream and improve engagement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Options traders are showing bullish interest after Meta’s AI-fueled pop, suggesting investors are positioning for further upside tied to the new product rollout. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Meta’s chip ambitions and broader AI strategy is reinforcing the view that its massive AI capex could eventually translate into greater control over infrastructure and better margins. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several investor-commentary pieces pointed to long-term value creation and argued Meta’s valuation looks attractive versus its growth, but these were mainly opinion-driven rather than new company-specific catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still weighing Meta’s huge AI spending, which some articles say could pressure profitability or even raise questions about future financing and dilution if the company keeps ramping investment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing reputational and regulatory headwinds, including criticism over AI-unit working conditions, the unwind of its Manus deal, and a proposed UK social media ban for users under 16 that could weigh on future engagement. Article Title

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.