Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Buys 7,780 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,184 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $59,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bayban boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 6.0%

NASDAQ META traded up $37.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $669.21. 40,552,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,389,378. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $598.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $627.10. The company has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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. 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 revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $838.26.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the 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 SEC, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,748 shares of company stock valued at $27,565,292. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

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.