Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Eaton Financial Holdings increased its Meta Platforms stake by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 12,917 shares valued at about $8.53 million.
• Meta reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $10.44 versus expectations of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Despite the earnings beat, Meta shares were down 5.5% and several analysts trimmed ratings or price targets, citing mixed sentiment around the stock.

Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,917 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.3% of Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value 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. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,860 shares of company stock worth $26,555,260. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 5.5%

META opened at $593.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $618.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $636.57. 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 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

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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