Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Buys 578,693 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Axxcess Wealth Management LLC sharply increased its Meta stake by 991.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 578,693 shares to bring its total holdings to 637,035 shares valued at about $420.5 million.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion, both topping analyst expectations. Revenue rose 33.1% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 29.35.
• Meta is pursuing new growth initiatives including paid subscriptions across its apps and Meta AI, while also paying a quarterly dividend. However, the company faces some caution from insider selling and potential EU privacy scrutiny around AI-related data collection.

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 991.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 637,035 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 578,693 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.6% of Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $420,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Arete Research restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 40,890 shares of company stock worth $25,315,558 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $632.51 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $617.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $636.92. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. 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 launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta's Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

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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