FAS Wealth Partners Inc. Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• FAS Wealth Partners increased its Meta stake by 5.2% in the first quarter, owning 19,965 shares valued at approximately $11.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings of $6.18 per share missed the $7.19 analyst consensus. Shares opened at $590.24, up 6.0%.
• Wall Street maintains a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $789.95 price target, although analysts have lowered targets amid concerns over higher AI spending, capital expenditures and weaker near-term free cash flow.

FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,965 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $59,963,463,000 after buying an additional 4,395,763 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI spending narrative improves: Strong earnings from Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and other cloud companies suggest enterprise AI demand remains robust, supporting the case for continued infrastructure investment and potentially greater monetization of Meta’s AI tools and recommendation systems. Amazon Just Flipped the AI Capex Narrative
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation attracts buyers: Multiple analyses describe Meta as inexpensive relative to its growth, citing a forward P/E near 17 and expectations for approximately 40% upside. Evercore’s Mark Mahaney reportedly named Meta a top large-cap idea with an $820 price target, while other analysts also maintain bullish views. Meta Named a Top Large-Cap Long Idea
• Positive Sentiment: Core advertising business remains strong: Recent coverage highlights rising revenue, ad impressions, ad prices and user engagement. Investors are encouraged that Meta’s AI investments may already be improving targeting, recommendations and advertising performance. Mark Zuckerberg Says He's Betting Big on AI Compute
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings showed substantial growth: Meta’s latest quarter produced $60.8 billion in revenue, up 28% year over year and above estimates. That growth, combined with a comparatively low valuation, is driving “buy-the-dip” recommendations. Is Meta Stock a Buy on the Dip?
• Neutral Sentiment: International exposure is a key variable: Investors are assessing Meta’s dependence on overseas revenue, including the stability of international advertising demand and currency-related risks. Meta International Revenues Trends
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment remains the main risk: Meta’s earnings miss and concerns about sharply higher capital expenditures, weaker free cash flow and the timing of returns caused the recent post-earnings pressure. Some analysts have also reduced price targets, including Bank of America to $810 and Monness Crespi & Hardt to $730. What's Going on With Meta Stock?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $785.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $789.95.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 37,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,034,051 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 6.0%

Shares of META opened at $590.24 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $600.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.55.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

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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