FFT Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,309 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• FFT Wealth Management LLC reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,309 shares and ending with 15,202 shares valued at about $10.0 million.
• Meta is getting a positive boost from AI-driven business expansion, including a new enterprise “business agent” for customer service and operations, which investors see as a potential subscription-style revenue stream beyond advertising.
• The stock also has supportive fundamentals and sentiment: Meta beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, raised interest from analysts with several buy or strong-buy ratings, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

FFT Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,202 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,309 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.9% of FFT Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. FFT Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched an enterprise-focused AI “business agent” designed to help companies handle customer inquiries, recommend products, book appointments, and automate daily operations across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. Investors see this as a new subscription-like revenue opportunity beyond ads. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage from multiple outlets suggested Meta’s AI agent strategy could expand into the business market and help diversify revenue, reinforcing the bull case that the company can monetize AI more effectively. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Areté Research upgraded Meta Platforms (META) from hold to strong-buy and set a $735 target, adding to the favorable analyst tone around the stock. Finviz reference
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also won a partial legal victory in Europe after a court backed its challenge to the EU’s “gatekeeper” designation for Marketplace, which could reduce regulatory pressure on part of the business. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s metaverse unit saw another management change, with Metaverse Products Group lead Gabriel Aul quietly leaving and being replaced by Saxs Persson. This is more of an internal reshuffle than a clear stock catalyst. Business Insider article
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that a high-profile hack exposed weaknesses in Meta’s AI support chatbot, highlighting security risks as the company automates sensitive account functions. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: State attorneys general also urged a court to revive antitrust claims against Meta, keeping regulatory and legal overhangs in the background. MediaPost article

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company'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 transaction, 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 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $622.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The firm's fifty day moving average is $618.18 and its 200 day moving average is $636.74. The company has a market cap of $1.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23.

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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

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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