Freemont Management S.A. Sells 1,200 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Freemont Management S.A. cut its Meta Platforms stake by 10.1% in the first quarter, selling 1,200 shares and leaving it with 10,700 shares valued at about $6.12 million.
• Insider selling continued, with CFO Susan J. Li and insider Curtis J. Mahoney both selling shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans; insiders sold 37,948 shares worth roughly $23.2 million over the last 90 days.
• Wall Street remains bullish overall: analysts currently rate Meta as a Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $835.64, while the company also posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $10.44 on $56.31 billion in revenue.

Freemont Management S.A. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,700 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Freemont Management S.A.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of 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. 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 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $767.00 to $835.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $835.64.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $606.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $604.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $625.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: A Florida teen dropped a social-media addiction lawsuit against Meta before trial, reducing near-term legal pressure and removing a potential headline risk for the company. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target on Meta, reinforcing Wall Street’s bullish long-term view despite near-term volatility. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said Meta’s AI glasses could become a meaningful long-term hardware growth opportunity, highlighting the company’s first-mover advantage in AI wearables. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to point to strong demand for Meta’s data-center and AI infrastructure buildout, with some seeing that spending as evidence of aggressive positioning in the AI race. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta launched a new AI-optimism ad campaign and Zuckerberg has been publicly pushing back against “AI doomerism,” but the messaging also highlights ongoing backlash over AI risks and product criticism. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s stock is in focus ahead of earnings, with some technical traders noting it is trading below several key moving averages and could remain volatile if results or guidance disappoint. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Meta dropped out of a major clean-energy pact while its natural-gas power buildout accelerates, which could fuel criticism from ESG-focused investors and increase scrutiny of its AI infrastructure strategy. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports suggest investors are worried about Meta’s heavy AI capex, with comparisons to other megacap tech names showing the market is increasingly focused on whether spending will pay off. Article

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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