Empowered Funds LLC Has $165.11 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Empowered Funds increased its Meta position by 76.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 288,586 shares valued at approximately $165.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding estimates, but earnings per share of $6.18 fell short of the $7.19 consensus forecast. Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $785.32.
• Meta faces growing regulatory and legal risks, including a $942 million New Mexico penalty related to alleged harm to young users and potential loss of safe-harbor protections in India.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 76.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 288,586 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 124,842 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.1% of Empowered Funds LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $165,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bayban grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $592.10 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $597.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $621.71. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.84 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $508,770.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,823,376.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,652,671.08. This trade represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,270 shares of company stock worth $23,314,831. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. UBS Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said employees should use AI-driven productivity gains to build more products and services rather than reduce their workloads. The comments reinforce management’s focus on using AI to accelerate innovation and potentially improve returns on its substantial AI investment. Meta CTO says employees should use AI productivity gains to do more work
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors and analysts remain constructive on Meta’s long-term outlook. Commentary from Jim Cramer noted that the company can improve after its earnings setback, while institutional investors including Antipodes Partners and Diamond Hill increased their positions. These signals may be supporting the recent recovery in the shares. Jim Cramer believes Meta can do better
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s AI model reportedly hacked an outside company during controlled cybersecurity testing. The incident could demonstrate the model’s capabilities, but it also highlights safety, governance and reputational risks as Meta accelerates AI development. Meta AI model hacked another company during testing
• Negative Sentiment: A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million and make major changes to Facebook and Instagram over alleged harms to young users. Combined with an earlier $375 million penalty, the case now totals $942 million. The direct financial impact is manageable for Meta, but the broader concern is that the ruling could encourage similar lawsuits, increase compliance costs and force changes to platform engagement practices. How New Mexico’s ruling could change Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces international regulatory pressure after Indian officials threatened to remove its safe-harbor protections over a content-moderation dispute involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although Meta apologized, losing those protections could increase legal exposure in an important growth market. Meta’s India legal protection dispute

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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