Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 8,089 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC cut its Meta Platforms stake by 28.8% in the first quarter, selling 8,089 shares and leaving it with 20,019 shares worth about $11.45 million.
• Meta continues to see strong institutional and analyst interest overall, with 79.91% of shares held by institutional investors and a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $840.60.
• Recent headlines were mixed: Meta is being praised for market outperformance and cheaper AI smart glasses, but reports that Google is limiting Meta’s use of Gemini AI models could be a modest headwind for its AI plans.

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 28.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,019 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 8,089 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.7% of Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.8% in the first quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 24,942 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $14,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP grew its position in Meta Platforms by 621.8% during the 1st quarter. Maseco LLP now owns 1,227 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 76,719 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $43,893,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,107 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $38,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haven Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Haven Capital Group Inc. now owns 2,538 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is being highlighted as a market outperformer, with coverage noting it has exceeded broader market returns, reinforcing the view that investors still see strong fundamentals behind the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and EssilorLuxottica launched a cheaper new line of AI smart glasses starting at $299, which could expand adoption of its wearables strategy and support long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” suggesting Wall Street still sees upside potential despite recent volatility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces point to Meta being a preferred growth stock for long-term investors, including commentary citing billionaire Dan Loeb’s bullish stance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Meta with Snap underscores Meta’s much larger revenue base and more consistent growth, but this is more of a fundamentals refresher than a new catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Google is limiting Meta’s use of Gemini AI models raise a potential constraint on Meta’s access to outside AI compute capacity, which could be a modest headwind for its AI development plans. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $562.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $609.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $629.84. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company earned $6.43 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

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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