Clough Capital Partners L P Reduces Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Clough Capital Partners cut its Meta Platforms stake by 6% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,734 shares and leaving it with 58,053 shares valued at about $38.3 million.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $840.60.

Clough Capital Partners L P reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,053 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,734 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.4% of Clough Capital Partners L P's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Clough Capital Partners L P's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $38,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 440 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Argyle Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. Argyle Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Asset One Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $7,726,000. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 270,126 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $178,307,000 after acquiring an additional 4,991 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 478,145 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $316,085,000 after acquiring an additional 14,735 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $567.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $621.93 and a 200 day moving average of $635.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS 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%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% 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. Insiders sold a total of 40,568 shares of company stock worth $25,057,365 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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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