Black Swift Group LLC Sells 9,355 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Black Swift Group LLC cut its Meta Platforms stake by 47.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,355 shares and leaving it with 10,185 shares worth about $6.7 million.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results were strong, with EPS of $10.44 beating estimates and revenue rising 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta despite some mixed analyst moves, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.60.

Black Swift Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,185 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 9,355 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.1% of Black Swift Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Black Swift Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 30,911 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,315 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,481,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Lcnb Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 888 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Wealth LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Wealth LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,125,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $584.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $620.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $636.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to be viewed as a major AI winner, with Truist calling out a potential next $20 billion business and analysts remaining bullish on the company’s long-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s $115 million workforce academy and related data-center training initiatives reinforce its aggressive AI infrastructure buildout and commitment to scaling capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Best Buy partnership to showcase AI glasses and VR headsets could help drive consumer interest and future hardware adoption.
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots, adding antitrust pressure and potentially weakening Meta’s platform advantage.
• Negative Sentiment: A newly reported AI bug that enabled Instagram account takeovers raises fresh cybersecurity and trust concerns for the platform.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta has delayed a key AI rollout are fueling concern that monetization of its AI investments may take longer than expected.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 41,305 shares of company stock worth $25,567,928 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms 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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