D.A. Davidson & CO. Grows Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & Co. increased its Meta Platforms stake by 5.1% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 96,569 shares worth about $55.25 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $830.45 despite a few recent target cuts and mixed ratings.
• Meta’s latest results were strong, as it reported $10.44 EPS on $56.31 billion in revenue, both ahead of expectations, while the company also continues to draw attention for its aggressive AI and data center investments.

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,569 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,701 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $55,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $645.85 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $604.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $626.63.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to beat second-quarter estimates, citing healthy ad demand and AI-related improvements, with Q2 revenue now seen at $60.6 billion and EPS at $7.50 versus consensus of $60.2 billion and $7.18. Meta Platforms expected to top earnings estimates as ad growth remains healthy, says BofA
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by reports that Meta could monetize its AI buildout more directly, including a potential large-scale computing deal with Anthropic, which could help justify its heavy capex and reduce valuation pressure. Zuckerberg Is Quietly Turning Meta Into A Compute Provider Ahead Of Q2 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s $12 billion financing for new Meta data centers in Texas underscores strong outside confidence in Meta’s AI infrastructure strategy and signals continued investment in future capacity. BlackRock Leads $12 Billion Financing for New Meta Data Centers in Texas
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Meta’s expanding AI ambitions and “compute provider” strategy reinforces the bullish AI narrative, but the market is still waiting for proof that the spending will translate into durable returns. Meta's AI Ambitions Keep Expanding. Is META Stock Keeping Up?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta faces a Tennessee trial over claims Instagram was designed to be addictive, adding headline risk and potential legal overhang for the stock. Meta faces Tennessee trial over allegations Instagram was designed to be addictive
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of temporary Facebook and Instagram outages may add near-term frustration for users and advertisers, though the impact appears more operational than fundamental. Users of Meta's Facebook, Instagram report suffering some outages

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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