Founders Financial Securities LLC Has $7.91 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Founders Financial Securities increased its Meta Platforms stake by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 11,975 shares worth about $7.91 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to their Meta positions, and institutions now own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 beating expectations and revenue rising 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion, while analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy on average.

Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,975 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 34.2% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $88,319,000 after buying an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta announced a partnership with Associated Builders and Contractors to launch a $115 million workforce academy that will train construction technicians for its data center projects, helping address labor shortages and supporting its AI infrastructure expansion. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Italy’s competition regulator dropped its investigation into Meta’s WhatsApp AI bot, removing a legal overhang tied to how the company integrates AI into WhatsApp. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also partnered with Best Buy to create “Meta Lab” experiential spaces where shoppers can test VR headsets and AI glasses, which could help boost hardware awareness and adoption. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $585.39 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $619.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $636.72. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms 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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