1,362 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Bought by Connecticut Capital Management Group LLC

Key Points

• Connecticut Capital Management Group LLC initiated a new position in Meta Platforms, buying 1,362 shares worth about $899,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive overall, but recent headlines highlight concerns around AI funding, product delays, and regulatory/privacy risks even as Meta continues to pay a quarterly dividend.

Connecticut Capital Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,362 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $899,000. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.9% of Connecticut Capital Management Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $593.00 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $618.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $636.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use 'Faceprint' Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US 'trade action'
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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