CastleKnight Management LP Sells 30,690 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

CastleKnight Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 32.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,880 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 30,690 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.9% of CastleKnight Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. CastleKnight Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $42,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after purchasing an additional 310,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 37,553,102 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $24,788,429,000 after purchasing an additional 823,883 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Three research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 5.4%

NASDAQ META opened at $567.58 on Thursday. 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. The company has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $621.93 and its 200 day moving average is $635.05.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business 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 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 3,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $84,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,707,600. This trade represents a 1.08% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 40,568 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,365 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta said Threads has reached 500 million monthly active users, while new community features and feed controls could improve engagement and strengthen the long-term value of its social platform. Reuters: Meta’s Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Positive Sentiment: Meta rolled out AI search and creative tools across Facebook, which analysts say could open a new monetization opportunity and support future ad growth. Proactive Investors: Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy view on Meta, citing AI strategy as a key growth catalyst, which may help support investor confidence in the company’s long-term earnings potential. Insider Monkey: BofA reiterates Buy rating on Meta Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to pay its next quarterly dividend next week, a routine shareholder return that is supportive but unlikely to be a major near-term stock driver. Finbold: Meta to pay dividends next week
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that a Meta executive overseeing part of the company’s AI-for-work restructuring is leaving, adding to concerns about execution during a major AI transition. Reuters: Meta head of product for ‘AI for work’ transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Two SEC filings showed COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, which can still weigh on sentiment even though the sales were scheduled. SEC filing for Javier Olivan transaction
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary has also focused on Meta’s heavy AI spending, Reality Labs losses, and valuation concerns, reinforcing fears that profit growth could slow if investment remains elevated. Zacks: Meta Platforms is Overvalued at 5.5X PS

Meta Platforms Company 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.