Burling Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 2,687 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Burling Wealth Partners boosted its Meta stake by 16.4% in Q4, buying 2,687 shares and bringing its total holdings to 19,030 shares worth about $12.6 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations with EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 consensus, while revenue rose 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share and is seeing mixed signals from investors, including notable insider selling and fresh analyst price-target adjustments.

Burling Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,030 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.9% of Burling Wealth Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Burling Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 20,126 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,285,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Pinkerton Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Midwestern Financial LLC IA lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Midwestern Financial LLC IA now owns 3,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 126,519 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $83,514,000 after purchasing an additional 73,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 696,555 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $459,789,000 after purchasing an additional 52,364 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4%

META stock opened at $632.51 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The business's 50-day moving average is $617.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $636.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 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”

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total value of $509,716.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,417,930.54. The trade was a 5.71% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,445 shares of company stock worth $26,306,420. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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