Ardsley Advisory Partners LP Acquires New Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Ardsley Advisory Partners LP opened a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter, buying 2,000 shares valued at about $1.32 million.
• Meta continues to attract strong institutional interest, with 79.91% of shares owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, even as some funds recently added smaller new stakes.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on META despite mixed rating actions: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.60, while Meta also reported strong recent earnings that beat estimates.

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,000 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,320,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on META. UBS Group downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $567.58 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick 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 two-hundred 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a P/E 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. The trade was a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. The trade was a 1.08% 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. Insiders sold a total of 40,568 shares of company stock worth $25,057,365 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about 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

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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