Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 336,576 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $192,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. First National Bank Sioux Falls grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $645.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $604.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $626.63. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its 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 firm posted $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to beat second-quarter estimates, citing healthy ad demand and AI-related improvements, with Q2 revenue now seen at $60.6 billion and EPS at $7.50 versus consensus of $60.2 billion and $7.18. Meta Platforms expected to top earnings estimates as ad growth remains healthy, says BofA
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by reports that Meta could monetize its AI buildout more directly, including a potential large-scale computing deal with Anthropic, which could help justify its heavy capex and reduce valuation pressure. Zuckerberg Is Quietly Turning Meta Into A Compute Provider Ahead Of Q2 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s $12 billion financing for new Meta data centers in Texas underscores strong outside confidence in Meta’s AI infrastructure strategy and signals continued investment in future capacity. BlackRock Leads $12 Billion Financing for New Meta Data Centers in Texas
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Meta’s expanding AI ambitions and “compute provider” strategy reinforces the bullish AI narrative, but the market is still waiting for proof that the spending will translate into durable returns. Meta’s AI Ambitions Keep Expanding. Is META Stock Keeping Up?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta faces a Tennessee trial over claims Instagram was designed to be addictive, adding headline risk and potential legal overhang for the stock. Meta faces Tennessee trial over allegations Instagram was designed to be addictive
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of temporary Facebook and Instagram outages may add near-term frustration for users and advertisers, though the impact appears more operational than fundamental. Users of Meta’s Facebook, Instagram report suffering some outages

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial upgraded Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade 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 ninety days, insiders sold 37,948 shares of company stock valued at $23,184,319. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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.