Alta Park Capital LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Alta Park Capital LP cut its Meta stake by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 21,665 shares and leaving it with 52,323 shares worth about $34.5 million. Meta still represented about 4.2% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Insiders also sold shares, including CTO Andrew Bosworth and COO Javier Olivan, with company insiders selling 40,568 shares in the last quarter. Those sales were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
• Meta continues to post strong operating results and AI-driven growth prospects, with analysts citing Threads’ user growth and new AI tools as potential tailwinds. The company beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates, and Wall Street currently has a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $840.60.

Alta Park Capital LP decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,323 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 21,665 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 4.2% of Alta Park Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Alta Park Capital LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $34,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were 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 directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,568 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,365. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 5.4%

Shares of META opened at $567.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $621.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $635.05. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 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 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 last year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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