LFG Wealth Partners LLC Buys Shares of 5,626 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

LFG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,626 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,714,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.4% of LFG Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 7,634 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 100,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $66,009,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Silvant Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 172,142 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $113,629,000 after acquiring an additional 18,419 shares during the period. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,707 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.4% during the fourth quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 30,256 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $19,972,000 after acquiring an additional 26,085 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $600.21 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $622.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $635.51. The company has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during 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 revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% 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. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI Mode in Facebook Search and related AI tools could open a new monetization stream and improve engagement across its apps. Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating, saying Meta’s AI strategy remains a key growth catalyst. BofA Reiterates Buy Rating on Meta Platforms (META) Cites AI Strategy a Key Growth Catalyst
• Positive Sentiment: Threads reached 500 million monthly active users, highlighting continued platform growth and stronger user engagement. Meta’s Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s CTO said morale in the AI unit is near historic lows, which may reflect execution challenges even as the company doubles down on AI. Meta’s CTO says morale is almost ‘the worst it’s ever been’
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming AI-powered AirPods and smart glasses could intensify competition in the AI wearables market, potentially challenging Meta’s device strategy. Apple to launch AI-juiced AirPods and sunglasses, going head-to-head with Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of consumer-protection lawsuits in Europe add another regulatory overhang for Meta. Consumer Protection: Three Chances for Damages from Meta Platforms

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.