Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC cut its Meta Platforms stake by 58.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,364 shares and leaving it with 6,684 shares worth about $4.41 million.
• Meta posted strong recent financial results, reporting Q1 EPS of $10.44 versus expectations of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on META, with analysts assigning an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $840.60, even as some traders and headlines highlight AI spending and regulatory concerns.

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 58.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,684 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 9,364 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use 'Faceprint' Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US 'trade action'
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $593.00 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50 day moving average price is $618.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $636.81. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued 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 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms 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 owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 41,305 shares of company stock worth $25,567,928 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.