Align Financial LLC Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Align Financial LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Meta Platforms, buying 732,890 shares valued at about $483.8 million. Meta now represents roughly 2.2% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 12th-largest holding.
• Other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions in Meta, and institutions now own 79.91% of the stock. Meanwhile, insiders have been selling shares, including recent sales by Curtis J. Mahoney and Robert M. Kimmitt.
• Meta shares were trading down about 5.4% at $567.58, even after the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations. Analysts still broadly remain constructive, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $840.60.

Align Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 732,890 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $483,773,000. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.2% of Align Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 14B Captial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,205,000. 3G Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. 3G Capital Partners LP now owns 90,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,408,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC now owns 18,997 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,540,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 387,342 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $255,681,000 after purchasing an additional 37,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,655,608 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,092,850,000 after purchasing an additional 22,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 40,568 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,365 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.4%

META opened at $567.58 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $621.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $635.05. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Arete Research set a $735.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

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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