AMG Asset Management Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• AMG Asset Management Group Inc. initiated a new position in Meta Platforms, buying 1,012 shares valued at about $668,000. The stake now represents 2.2% of AMG’s holdings and is its 14th-largest position.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 topping estimates and revenue of $56.31 billion beating forecasts. Revenue rose 33.1% year over year, underscoring continued growth and profitability.
• The stock traded lower and has attracted mixed signals: shares were down 2.3% on the day, while analysts still broadly rate META a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $840.60. Recent insider selling and a broader tech selloff have also weighed on sentiment.

AMG Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,012 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $668,000. Meta Platforms comprises 2.2% of AMG Asset Management Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $26,112,735,000 after purchasing an additional 310,947 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $563.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $619.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $633.52. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.63%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is making a major strategic push in India, investing $900 million in fintech startup CRED and appointing its founder, Kunal Shah, to lead WhatsApp. Investors may view this as a growth-oriented move that strengthens Meta’s positioning in a key market. Indian fintech firm CRED to raise $900 million from Meta at $4.5 billion valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continued to highlight upside potential for META, with reports noting Wall Street price targets implying substantial upside and framing the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. Meta Taps New WhatsApp Boss as Part of $900 Million Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expanding Instagram beyond mobile with new TV features, a product move that could open another engagement channel but is not yet a material financial catalyst. Meta Takes on Streaming Giants With New ‘Instagram for TV' Offerings
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is pausing an internal mouse-tracking and employee activity program while it reviews data-security concerns. The move may reduce near-term controversy, but it also underscores internal governance and privacy issues around its AI efforts. Meta to pause internal mouse-tracking tech while examining data security issues
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a leaked employee-activity database from Meta’s AI training program intensified backlash and raised concerns about internal data security and employee trust, which can weigh on sentiment. Meta pauses an AI training program that tracks employees' keystrokes after a companywide leak
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are also being dragged by a broader tech selloff, with Meta included in a drop across the Magnificent 7 as investors rotate out of high-growth names. The Magnificent 7 Selloff Is a Rare Buying Opportunity

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wedbush raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.60.

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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