Alight Capital Management LP Buys 25,000 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Alight Capital Management LP increased its Meta Platforms stake by 166.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 25,000 more shares to reach 40,000 shares valued at about $26.4 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on META, with the stock carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $840.60. Recent reports included target-price hikes and reaffirmed buy-style ratings.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $10.44 on revenue of $56.31 billion, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share payable June 25.

Alight Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 166.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,000 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 6.7% of Alight Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Alight Capital Management LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $567.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company's fifty day moving average is $621.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $635.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,568 shares of company stock worth $25,057,365. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

About Meta Platforms

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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